HomeMy WebLinkAboutpercy-road_0042 AREA FORM NO. I
FORM B - BUILDING 0 498
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
r
- Lexington
'esS 42 Percy Road
iT :otic Names a anvrin House
Present two-family residence
Original residence
ESCRIPTION:
— - e 1891
owner/inference
_ource from subdivision date and style
SKETCH MAP
Show property's location in relation Style
to nearest cross streets and/or
geographical features. Indicate Architect
all buildings between inventoried
property and earest intersection. Exterior wall fabric clapboards
Indicate n fth.
a Outbuildings two garages
dR
s
Major alterations (with dates) divided
into two-family house (early twentieth
y century)
L
Cn
Moved Date
\� \ Approx. acreage 25200 ft.2
Recorded by Anne Grady Setting Suburban residential street; a
Organization Lexington Historical Commission mix of late nineteenth century and mid-
Date March, 1984 twentieth century houses.
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
This large dwelling built in 1891 displays Italianate features popular
several decades earlier: a central gable, paired brackets at the eaves, and
corner panelled pilasters. The building retains cast iron cresting at the
center of the hip roof, one of several examplesof metal cresting in
Lexington.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state
history and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
Hiram Janvrin, a hardware dealer in Boston, built the house in 1891.
Janvrin was one of the largest stockholders in the Lexington Land Company,
which developed the rest of the land on Munroe Hill adjacent to his property.
Social life of the new, more affluent residents of Lexington on Meriam
and Munroe hills was chronicled by the local newspaper. A talent evening at
the Janvrins in 1892,includirg recitations, charades, tableaux, and music,
both instrumental and vocal,. was a typical event.
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 II, p. 322. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
Lexington Minute Man, June 21, 1891, August 19, 1892.
Reinhardt, Elizabeth Wright. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Boston
University.
10M - 7/82