HomeMy WebLinkAboutnorth-hancock-street_0036 FORM B -BUILDING
Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
71/153A Boston N. 1099
1 :
Town Lexington
f Place(neighborhood or village)
j I Address 36 North Hancock Street
-' Historic Name Charles &Aleph Bertwell House
Uses: Present Residential
Original Residential
......... ►'. Date of Construction c.1898
` Source Lexington Valuation Lists
w
Style/Form Queen Anne
'+ Architect/Builder unknown
�a
Exterior Material:
i
Foundation fieldstone
Wall/Trim wood clapboard/wood shingle
Roof asphalt shingle
n` Outbuildings/Secondary Structures
garage(1968)
-
L
BUILDING FORM (36 North Hancock Street)
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the
community.
The house at 36 North Hancock Street is a 2 1/2-story,gablefront dwelling which is set above a rubble foundation. The
building is sheathed in wood clapboards with decorative shingles laid in staggered butt and diamond patterns filling the top of
the gable. Dentil trim extends along the tops of the attic windows, down the sides of the gable and wrapping around the
building at the cornice level. Capped by a gable pent,the facade is two-bays wide. The sidehall entrance is sheltered by a
single-story wide porch constructed c.1998 and incorporating typical Queen Anne-style features including turned posts, stick
balusters, simple newels and dentil trim. Above the entrance is a single 1/1 sash. Adjacent to the entrance is a two-story,
three-sided bay window. Window openings contain a mix of 2/1 and 1/1 sash with a three-sided, single-story bay window at
the rear of the west elevation. A 2 1/2-story cross gable with cornice returns projects slightly from the east elevation.
Extending behind the main house block is a modem, single-story wing which steps back in two sections,terminating in a
deck.
The house is setback from the road on a level 20,500 square foot lot. A paved driveway extends to the west of the house,
terminating at a modern two-car garage (1968)sheathed in clapboards with two overhead doors on the gable front.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
Des�ribe the history of the building. Explain its associations with local(or state) history. Include uses of the building and
the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community.
It appears that this house was constructed about 1898 for Charles and Aleph Bertwell. The earliest assessment found for the
property indicates that in 1899 Charles F. Bertwell was assessed for a house valued at$2300 and 4 1/2 acres of land. (There
is no entry for Bertwell in the 1897 Val. List and the 1898 List was not available.) According to the town history, Charles
Bertwell was born in 1855 and came to Lexington in 1897. Early directories indicate that Bertwell was employed as a wood
turner;after 1918 his occupation is listed as that an officer at the House of Correction. In 1942 the directory lists Mrs. Aleph
Robbins in residence. From c.1950 to c.1960 the house was occupied by Russell and Eleanor Bailey. Later owners include
Leonard and Elizabeth Colwell, Don and Lynne Yansen and Fred and Nancy Knickerbocker.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
Lexington Assessors Records.
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Lexington Valuation Lists,various dates.
Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked,you must attached a completed
National Register Criteria Statement form.