HomeMy WebLinkAboutwarren-street_0012 AREA FORM NO. 1
eORM B - BUILDING o 502
ASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
.9= WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
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'ess 12 Warren Street
- f' toric Name Mrs. Wm. Munroe House
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Present residential
— _ Original residential
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Source map and directory research
SKETCH MAP
Show property' s location in relation Style Colonial Revival
to nearest cross streets and/or
geographical features. Indicate Architect Henry B. Ball
all buildings between inventoried
property and nearest inter ction. Exterior wall fabric clapboards
Indicate north.
i
Outbuildings
ROADi
Major alterations (with dates)
Moved Date
\ Approx. acreage 27980 rt+2
Recorded by Anne Grady \ Setting On Munroe Hill; suburban residen-
tial turn of the twentieth century houses
Organization Lexington Historical Commission and some mid-twentieth century infill;
site slopes steeply to the rear.
Date March, 1984
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
This is one of several large Colonial Revival houses on Munroe Hill of
similar date. Its chief decorative focus is the pedimented central pavilion
trimmed with palladian, oculus and lunette windows and an off-center entrance
porch. Although four square in appearance, the house is not symmetrical. A
porch is cantilevered off the rear wall at first floor level (the view side) .
The porch is supported by large cut-out brackets.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state
history and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
The house was built by Mrs. William Munroe, widow of the son of James
S. Munroe, prominent nearby resident.
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. 474. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.
1899 Directory
1906 Directory
Plans in the possession of the owner
10M - 7/82
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 12 WARREN ST.
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 502
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
This house was constructed in 1897 for Mrs. Helen(Gookin)Munroe(b.1862),widow of William R. Munroe(1855-
1889). William was the son of James S. Munroe,a prominent nearby resident and one of the major shareholders in the
company that developed Munroe Hill. On May 14, 1897 the Lexington Minute-Man reported that"Mrs. Wm. R. Munroe
is soon to erect a residence for her own occupancy on land belonging to the Jas. S. Munroe estate". Mrs.Munroe was
still living here in 1913.
By 1920 the house was owned and occupied by electrical engineer Galt Parsons and his wife Helen. The Parsons were
still in residence in 1942.
No real information has been found concerning the architect of the house,Henry B.Ball. According to the MACRIS data
base,Ball was also the architect of the Riverbank Court Hotel at 305 Memorial Drive in Cambridge,which dates to 1900.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lexington Directories,various dates.
Lexington Minute-Man,May 14, 1897.
Massachusetts Historical Commission,MACRIS database.
Supplement prepared by:
Lisa Mausolf
January 2009