HomeMy WebLinkAboutwoburn-street_0044 1 AREA FORM NO.
FORM B - BUILDING F 305
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108
4+. n Lexington
cess 44 Woburn Street
toric Name Noyes-Dame House
Present residential
' ,. 7 Original residential
_ iESCRIPTION:
- - -
e c. 1850
J '
o ource 1830, 1852 maps; stylistic analysis
SKETCH MAP
Show property' s location in relation Style Greek Revival
to nearest cross streets and/or
geographical features. Indicate Architect
all buildings between inventoried
property and nearentersecction. Exterior wall fabric asbestos shingle
Indicate north. A`
Outbuildings
Major alterations (with dates) rear
lc� ells (two-story cross-gabled, one-story)
L�
Moved Date
Approx. acreage 14600 ft.2
1
Recorded byDncy S. Seasholes Setting On a busy street close to many
Organization Lexington Historical Commission other modest nineteenth century houses.
Date April, 1984
(Staple additional sheets here)
N.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
LEXINGTON 44 WOBURN STREET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 305
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The house at 44 Woburn Street is one of four small Greek Revival houses in the Woburn Street area(the others are 66,
76, and 147 Woburn Street). They are all small cottages and are characterized by granite or brick foundations and some
Greek Revival elements. The house at 44 Woburn Street has a brick foundation and is set with its gable end
perpendicular to the street. It was originally three bays wide and one deep with a full entablature on the side and a center
side entrance with full sidelights. The others are more typical Greek Revival cottages with a gablefront and sidehall plan.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
A road from Lexington Center to Woburn has existed since the 17t"century. In the early 19th century Woburn Street
began to develop as a locus of small cottages however the major development of the area seems to have occurred after
1855. By 1875 Woburn Street and the south side of Cottage Street were lined by small houses.
Beginning about 1855 but certainly by 1875,the vast majority of the residents in the Woburn Street area were Irish. Irish
immigrants had begun moving to Lexington in the 1850s to work as laborers on farms and in other occupations. Those
who could afford to rent or own their own houses soon became concentrated in the Woburn Street area,a section known
as"Skunk Hollow". More research is needed to determine why the Irish settled along Woburn Street; perhaps it was
because this was already a working-class neighborhood and was also near the railway line.
In the early 20th century 44 Woburn Street was numbered as#36. The house was occupied from about 1908 into the
1980s by Bermuda-born Andrew Pewtherer and his family.
For more detail see:
Seasholes,Nancy S. Area form(F)for Woburn Street, 1984.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICkNCE (Describe important architectural features and
evaluate in terms of other buildings within the community.)
See area form F.
HISTORICAL, SIGNIFICANCE (Explain the role owners played in local or state
history and how the building relates to the development of the community.)
See area form F.
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES (name of publication, author, date and publisher)
10M - 7/82