HomeMy WebLinkAboutsummer-street_0036 FORM B BUILDING Assessor's Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
0 0 2267
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 28/43
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD Town/City: Lexington
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Place: (neighborhood or village):
Photograph
Address: 36 Summer Street
4 Historic Name: Whipple Hill Farm
Uses: Present: residential
' Original: residential
E
Date of Construction: ca. 1910
'r
Source: assessors' records, historic maps,
architectural features, directories
Style/Form: No style
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
North (facade)and west (right side) elevations Foundation: fieldstone
Wall/Trim: artificial siding and trim
Locus Map Roof- asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Two conjoined garages/sheds
Major Alterations (with dates):
Artificial siding (L 20th c), replacement windows (L 20th—E
21 st C)
' sa ti
< � Condition: good
1 Moved: no ❑ yes ❑ Date:
Q Acreage: 2.50
Setting: Located off busy arterial thoroughfare in the
«► remote corner between Lexington, Arlington, and
e Winchester. Abuts 120-acre Whipple Hill conservation
area. Surrounding development is heterogeneous, mainly L
20th century residential buildings.
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 36 SUMMER STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
2267
❑ 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.
36 Summer Street occupies a large lot on the east side of Lowell Street, a main thoroughfare through East Lexington. Set well
back from the street, the house faces the side of its lot, with a narrow setback from a dirt and packed gravel access road leading
from the street to the house and conservation land beyond. The lot slopes up gradually from the street to the house and is
generally flat eastward of the building.
The rectangular main block of the house rises two stories from a fieldstone foundation to a front-gabled roof with gable returns
and a small interior chimney centered at the ridgeline. A one-bay, shed-roofed extension spans the back of this block. Walls are
sheathed with artificial siding and trim; windows have 1/1 double hung sash with no trim. The front entrance is contained in a
one story, flat-roofed extension (formerly an enclosed sun porch?) built on a poured concrete foundation. It contains an offset,
single-leaf door, banded windows, and a small front porch with square wood balusters and wood steps. One window is centered
above at the second story of the main block.
The side elevations are both asymmetrical. The left (east)side of the main block has three windows on the first floor, and two
vertically aligned above. The right(west) side of the main block contains a picture window towards the back on the first floor and
two single windows towards the back on the second floor. The shed-roofed appendage has an offset door on this elevation and
a small wood deck with square wood balusters at the back.
Most of the land on each side of the house is fenced in for farm animals that live on the property. A gravel driveway extends
from the access road around the left side of the house to two conjoined garages to the back (south)of the house. Both are one
story in height. The structure on the left features a shallow-pitched shed roof and double-leaf hinged doors on its fagade (north)
elevation. The right-hand structure displays a hip roof, one vehicle bay with a modern garage door, and an offset entrance on
the right end of its fagade.
36 Summer Street has lost most of its architectural integrity through artificial siding, the loss of original trim, and replacement
window sash. The property is notable as a vernacular farmhouse that still retains a meaningful portion of its agricultural setting,
including two outbuildings.
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.
Despite the establishment of Lowell Street as a regional turnpike in the early 19th century, this peripheral area of east Lexington
remained mostly agricultural and sparsely developed through the early 20th century. Summer Street—a short piece of roadway
connecting Arlington with Lowell Street—is a late addition to Lexington's street network, appearing between 1906 and 1927. Its
layout may have been influenced by the early 20th century development of the nearby Crescent Hill subdivision, which spills over
into Arlington.
Little is presently known of the history of 36 Summer Street. Assessors' records for this house show a construction date of
1910, which has not been confirmed. No buildings are indicated in this vicinity on town maps through 1906, and the area is not
covered by the early 20th century Sanborn maps. The 1922 directory identifies several residents at unknown locations on
Summer Street. Walter H. Johnson, a laborer, and his wife Mary were said to be living in an unnumbered house on Summer
Continuation sheet I
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 36 SUMMER STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
2267
Street, as were Frank Stetson, a farmhand, and his wife Catherine. Living "off' Summer Street in that year were Joseph
DeFilice, a laborer, and his wife Theresa.
By 1935, the Comeiro family is identified specifically at 36 Summer Street. Its members included Silvio and his wife Rose, both
born in Italy, and five children. (In 1926, they were at said to be at 6 Summer Street, which might have referred to this house.)
Silvio is listed as a farmer in 1936, but was commonly described as a laborer. From 1945 on, no one at this address was
identified as a farmer. The Comeiro family remained at this house through at least 1965. One or more of Joseph and Rose's
grown children are identified here in 1945 and 1965. Their known occupations were employment in a box factory, mechanic,
and truck driver; the youngest son served in the Army during World War II.
Further research is recommended to determine the history and significance of this property, particularly as it relates to
Lexington's agricultural history.
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 Summaries. http://historicsurveV.Iexingtonma.gov/index.htm
Accessed Jul 23, 2015.
Lexington Directories: 1899, 1906, 1908-09, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1934, 1936.
Lexington List of Persons: 1935, 1945, 1955, 1965.
Massachusetts Historical Commission. "MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Lexington." 1980.
U. S. Census: 1940.
SUPPLEMENTARY IMAGES
West and north (facade) elevations Outbuildings: North (facade) elevations
Continuation sheet 2