HomeMy WebLinkAboutsomerset-road_0047 FORM B -BUILDING
Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
56/96E Boston N. 1133
" Town Lexington
Place (neighborhood or village) Upper Meriam Hill
0
Address 47 Somerset Road
Historic Name Edwin&Ida Stevens House
ME
man 'r (Stevens-Emery House)
Uses: Present Residential
Original Residential
Date of Construction 1926
�p Source Lexington Valuation Lists
a Style/Form Craftsman/Colonial Revival
Architect/Builder unknown
yr` c FWD ,
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Exterior Material:
Foundation brick
- Wall/Trim wood clapboards
SOMERSET
29 — - '040 Roof slate
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures
% 8 none
1 r
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Major Alterations (with dates)
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Condition good
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Moved ® no ❑ yes Date
\\Z.Q�� 1 i Acreage 20,392 SF
Recorded by Lisa Mausolf Setting early 20th century residential neighborhood
Organization Lexington Historical Commission
Date (month/year) May 2000
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
BUILDING FORM (47 Somerset Road)
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of the building in terms of other buildings within the
community.
Combining elements of the Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles, 47 Somerset Road is a two-story, 5 x 3-bay dwelling
sheathed in wide clapboards. The house rests on a brick foundation and is capped by a slate, hip roof with flared eaves and a
wide overhang. Fronted by a brick stoop, the center entrance contains a six-panel door,with the two upper panels filled with
glass. The entrance is flanked by full sidelights and capped by a semi-elliptical fan with keystone. The open gable porch
displays sections of entablature, that is supported by Roman Doric columns,which are echoed by pilasters. The entrance
shares some similarities with 43 Somerset Road (MHC#1131)next door although that house was apparently constructed
about ten years earlier.
On either side of the entrance is a tripartite window consisting of a central 6/6 window flanked by 4/4 sash with an
entablature lintel and shutters. The upstairs is punctuated by five individual 6/6 windows with entablature lintels that extend
to the eaves. Two pedimented dormers rise from the front roof slope.
The west elevation is spanned by a single-story, flat-roofed sunporch lit by a combination of casement and doublehung
windows resting on a brick base. A single-story addition projects from the east elevation.
The house is setback from the street and a brick walk leads to the front door. A large oak tree shades the front yard.
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HIiTORICAL NARRATIVE
Describe 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. 6/VI.r�Vltt vVl J� 114
This land was originally part of the 400-acre Francis B. Hayes estate which extended from Adams and ancock Streets to
Woburn Street (the house known as Oakmount or The Castle was built in 1884 and demolished in 1941). This portion of the
Hayes estate was laid out in houselots in 1912.
This house was constructed in 1926 for Edwin and Ida Stevens. In 1926 Ida Stevens, who was living at 2 Oakland Street,
was taxed for a houselot on Somerset. The following year she was assessed for a house and land, indicating the construction
of the dwelling had been completed. Edwin Stevens apparently died soon after but his widow continued to live in the house
until 1937. The house was owned by George and Marjorie Emery from 1937; it was sold by her heirs in 1984. The Emerys
previously lived at 42 Somerset Road (MHC#1130) from 1923 until 1936.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Lexington Assessors Records.
Mngton Directories, various dates.
\ ngton Valuation Lists, various dates.
1
Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attached a completed
National Register Criteria Statement form.