HomeMy WebLinkAboutmeriam-street_0017 AREA FORM NO.
FORM B - BUILDING I x 380
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
r
£ -
n Lexington
'
ress 17 Meriam Street
toric Name Church of Our Redeemer
- - - � -
Church: St. Nicholas
, � - ®� - �► _ Present Greek Orthodox Church
_ Church of Our Redeemer,
Episcopal
Original
f.
)ESCRIPTION:
:e 1886
iource Hudson, I, p. xviii
SKETCH MAP
Show property's location in relation Style Shingle Style with Gothic elements
to nearest cross streets and/or 1�dWcc.4 f --
geographical features. Indicate Architect E.A.P. Newcomb 19/O au
all buildings. between inventoried
property and nearest intersection. Exterior wall fabric shingles
Indicate north.
Outbuildings
Major alterations (with dates) sidewalls
extended outward, one-story addition to
the facade (dates unknown) ; r Gi✓ia h G�oUst
added to left
(CSS a '�eebJt �(, ?' awAl.
-� c'-V
Moved Date
og�
4 _ Approx. acreage 12500 ft.2
s
Recorded by Anne Grady Setting Corner at the foot of Meriam
Organization Lexington Historical Commission Hill; residential streets developed in
Date March, 1984 the 1880s and 1890s primarily.
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL, SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
This small church is a creative blend of Shingle and Gothic Revival
styles. Notable features are the carved wooden tracery in the stained glass
windows and the treatment of the gable where half-timbering and a hood surround
a larger window with tracery. Set forward from the facade and supporting the
hood (originally the base of a spire) is a carved wooden cross. Although there
are several other churches with Gothic elements in Lexington, the carved
tracery and design of this church are unique. Fortunately, the windows were
(see Continuation Sheet)
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state
histor , and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
The Episcopal Parish in Lexington was incorporated on October 15, 1885.
The church was built within , vear. E.L. McNamara received the contract for
stonework and "Witcher and Muzzy" supplied the frame. In 1954 the spire of
the building blew off during hurricane Carol and landed upside down in the
front yard with the tip 1 ed in the ground. A startling photograph of the
event was widely published see attachment).
In 1gs7 the Episcopal congregation moved to larger quarters on the
north side of Meriam Street and the Greek Orthodox congregation purchased the
building.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher)
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington, revised and continued to
1912 by the Lexington Historical Society, Volume I, pp. 374-376. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
Lexington Minute Man, November 13, 1885, January 15, 1886, September 9, 1954.
10M - 7/82
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community: Form No:
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL CaVISSION Lexington 380
Office of the Secretary, Boston
Property Name; Church of Our Redeemer
Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below.
- ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
reused when the sidewalls of the church were extended outward 10 feet or so.
The one-story, shed-roofed portion of the front of the church was originally
an open porch. The current windows in this portion were made from the original
openwork tracery on the porch. There is a large addition to the left rear.
19 54
�,r *
- a• � > y �
i
HU11.11ICANE HALLMARK — Hurricane Carol which hit town
Tuesday, Aug,. 31, performed this spectacular stunt with the steeple
of the Church of Our Redeerner at the corner of Meriam and Oak-
land streets. Many residents wiss;- *itis sight 71s the steeple was
quickly cleared away last Tuesday afternoon. Without doubt, this,
is the best of the hurricane pictures. (Zitso Studio)
(Unidentified clipping)
Staple to Inventory form at bottom
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 17 MERIAM ST.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 3 80
BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The architect of the church was Edgar Allan Poe Newcomb(1846-1916), son of another Boston architect, Levi
Newcomb. E.A.P.Newcomb was a partner in the firm of Levi Newcomb from 1866 to 1876 and headed the firm from
1876 until 1901 when he moved to Honolulu,Hawaii. Among the younger Newcomb's known designs are a number of
residential commissions in the Back Bay,the First Baptist Church in Haverhill,the Frank Carpenter House in
Manchester,NH,the George Tower House in St. Louis,Missouri,the high altar in Albany Cathedral,Albany,New York
and a number of buildings in Honolulu. In addition to his architectural works,Newcomb was a writer of some note and
wrote a number of poems which were set to music and an opera"The Maid of Marblehead" .
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The lot of land for the church at the corner of Oakland and Meriam Streets was purchased in October 1884. On October
15, 1885 the parish was officially incorporated and Messrs. Robbins, Griffiths, Clarke, Lawrence, and Jackson were
elected a building committee. Plans for the church building were drawn by E.A.P.Newcomb of Boston. The first
services were held in the church on June 24, 1886.
In 1910 the parish house addition was constructed. The new structure joined the church at right angles on the rear on the
north side and measured roughly 54' x 27'. The architect for the addition was Edward Reed of Lexington, a
communicant of the parish. Reed had graduated from Harvard in 1908 with a degree in architecture(see also 50 Percy
Road). John McKay was the contractor and builder(Hudson,vol. 1,p. 375-6;Minute-man, July 16, 1910).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington,revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1913.
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Lexington Minute-Man,July 16, 1910.
Massachusetts Historical Commission, MACRIS data base.
Middlesex County Register of Deeds, Cambridge,Mass.
Sheppard, Susan. National Register Nomination for George Tower,Jr. House, St. Louis,Missouri,2005.
U.S. Census Records, 1900-1930.
http://awt.ancestr liy brM.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=andrewsgd&id=1:86369&ti=5542 (Information on E.A.P.
Newcomb)
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
June 2009