HomeMy WebLinkAboutoakland-street_0021 FORM B BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
0 OH 1176
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 56/193
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD Town/City: Lexington
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Place: (neighborhood or village):
Photograph
Address: 21 Oakland Street
�J
Historic Name:
r 1 Uses: Present: residential
A-
Original: residential
Date of Construction: 1906-27
Source: historic maps
Style/Form: Craftsman/Arts & Crafts
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: stone
Assessor's photograph: Front(facade) and right side
elevations Wall/Trim: wood shingles and trim
Locus Map Roof- asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
a
40
w Condition: good
t Moved: no ❑ yes ❑ Date:
ti Acreage: 0.59
• �� Setting: Located on steep, wooded slope of Merriam Hill,
/ f directly behind a large mansion at 23 Oakland Street and
;o _- halfway between Grant and Oakland streets. Densely built
residential neighborhood along both streets, largely
constructed in the late 19th/turn of the 20th centuries.
Recorded by: Wendy Frontiero
Organization: Lexington Historical Commission
Date (month/year): September 2015
12/12 Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 21 OAKLAND STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
�H 1176
❑ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
If checked,you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.
Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
21 Oakland Street occupies a relatively large, nearly square parcel between Oakland and Grant streets, on the steep southern
slope of Merriam Hill. The lot is connected to Oakland Street by a narrow strip of land,just wide enough to accommodate an
unpaved (gravel and grass) driveway. An adjacent, undeveloped parcel fronting on Grant Street is under the same ownership
and contains another unpaved driveway. Visibility from public ways is extremely limited; field observations were substantially
augmented by assessor's records and Bing bird's eye views for the following description.
The rectangular building consists of a 35 by 40 foot main block rising 1 '/2 stories from a stone foundation to a front gable roof
(facing Oakland Street)with exposed rafter ends. Due to the slope of the land, the basement level is fully exposed at the back of
the house. Walls are clad with wood shingles; windows typically have double-hung sash with band molding. The main entrance
is set slightly off the center line of the front (Oakland Street)fagade. The right side elevation (facing 19A Oakland Street)
contains a wide, three-sided bay window that rises above the main eave line and is topped by a polygonal roof, creating a tower
effect. Towards the rear of this elevation, a broad exterior chimney is flanked on the first floor by paired windows at the left and
two single windows on the right, and two gabled dormers, each with a single window, at the roof. The rear elevation (facing
Grant Street) has a wood porch and stairway spanning most of its length.
21 Oakland Street appears to be a substantial, distinctive, and little altered example of the Craftsman/Arts & Crafts style in
Lexington. Access to the property for closer examination is merited.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
Discuss 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.
Oakland Street was laid out and platted after 1873; most of the houses in this section were built in the 1880s. In 1906, this
property was part of the Edward P. Bliss estate. Bliss's Queen Anne style house was built in 1884, with a major Craftsman style
addition ca. 1906, designed by Lexington architect Willard Brown (LEX.373). The building now known as 21 Oakland Street was
not illustrated on the 1906 map. A two-story building of roughly the same size, shape, and location (with an appendage at the
back left[southeast] corner) appears on the 1927 Sanborn map, identified as Locke Hill Riding School. Parcel lines are
unfortunately not completely drawn to indicate whether or not it was still part of the Bliss estate. In 1935, the building, now
clearly on a separate parcel, is identified as a dwelling and numbered 21 Oakland Street. The narrow strip of land connecting
the building and Oakland Street was in place at this time.
No information is presently known of the Locke Hill Riding School. The first known residents at this address, in 1932, were
Matthew Stevenson, then a cattle inspector, and his wife Minnie L. By 1935, they were accompanied by their son William H.
Stevenson, and Matthew's sister, Irene C. Stevenson. In 1940, the family had a boarder, Althea Earley, who worked as a public
school teacher. From at least 1945 through 1965, the house was occupied by Ernest F. Stokes and his wife Edith E. Mr.
Stokes's occupation was described variously as accountant, purchasing agent, and manager.
Further research is recommended to ascertain the construction date of this house, its affiliation with the Bliss estate, and early
uses, including the history of the Locke Hill Riding School.
Continuation sheet I
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 21 OAKLAND STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
�H 1176
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Historic maps and atlases: Walling 1853; Beers 1875; Walker 1889; Stadly 1898; Walker 1906; Sanborn 1908, 1918, 1927,
1935, 1935/1950.
Lexington Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey, Period and Area Summaries.
http://historicsurvey.lexingtonma.gov/index.htm Accessed Jul 23, 2015.
Lexington Directories: 1899, 1908-09, 1922, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1936.
Lexington List of Persons: 1935, 1945, 1955, 1965.
Massachusetts Historical Commission. "MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Lexington." 1980.
. Form B building inventory forms: LEX.373, LEX.375.
U.S. Census: 1920, 1930, 1940.
Continuation sheet 2