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Home My WebLink Aboutarea-aoFORM A - AREA Massachusetts Historical Commission 220 Morri ssey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 Assessor's Sheets USGS Quad Area Letter Form Numbers in Area 57119 & 123;Boston N.AO 1468-1471 57/145-77 57/145-79 Town: Lexington Place (neighborhood or village): Name of Area: Bedford Street Duplexes Present Use: Residential Construction Dates or Period: 1913-1914 Overall Condition: good Major Intrusions and Alterations: some window replacement Acreage: /e SS 11i ,&o 1 t Ci^ Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf Organization: Lexington Historical Commission Date (month/year): Janua ry 2000 d !x/71 !70 7j st- (i-/z1c) NoiN^ AREA FORM (69-71, 73-75, 77-79, 81-83 Bedford Street) ARC HI TECTURAL DESCRIPTION Describe architectural, structural and landscape features and evaluate in terms of other areas within the communi ty . The buildings at 69-71, 73-75, 77-79 an d 81-83 Bedford Street constitute a cluster of four Craftsman-style, stuccoed duplexes. Identical in plan, each of the two-story, 4 x 2-bay buildings rests on a fieldstone foundation an d is capped by a steeply-pitched hip roof, now sheathed in asphalt shingles but originally were covered in a tile or asbestos shingle. The buildings are roughly rectangular in plan although on each of the buildings the part of the facade containing the entrance and two flanking bays projects slightly from the adjacent wall an d is capped by a hip roof which projects from the main hip roof. An offcenter single-story porch with roof-top balustrade fronts the entrance an d adjacent window. Subtle differences in the design of the roof dormers, porch supports and front doors differentiate the buildings. The building at 69-71 Bedford Street has a single hip-roofed front dormer with exposed rafters while its neighbor h as two smaller hipped dormers. A gabled dormer with braces rises from the front slope of 77-79 Bedford Street while 81-83 Bedford Street has a shed dormer which has been altered by the addition of jalousie windows. The choice of porch supports includes tapered wooden posts, square wooden posts, and stuccoed posts. With the exception of 73-75 Bedford Street, all of the buildings retain their original front doors and adjacent stained glass windows. The front door designs include one with an oval inset glass and two with square glass. The stained glass windows on the two northern buildings appear identical. On 73-75 Bedford Street, the original entrance has been replaced by two six-panel doors. The predominant windows are tripartite windows consisting of a central 6/1 sash flanked by 4/1 units an d individual 6/1 sash, all set into molded surrounds. The building at 69-71 Bedford Street has witnessed the most alterations which include the painting of the stuccoed exterior, the replacement of the original windows with 1/1 sash, the addition of dormers on the side and rear roof slopes and a rear porch addition. This is also the only building which lacks window shutters. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Explain historical development of the area. Discuss how this area relates to the historical devel ment of the community.s1e eta&df- ds :1M4CX..s-z These four duplexes were constructed in 1913-1914 by William J. Edwar , owner of the Edwards Cement System of Cambridge. The houses are located on the former Professor Holt property.t On August 15, 1913, the Lexington Minute-man reported that the four buildings were under construction and on November 5, 1914 the houses were reported to be almost completed. The 1914 Town Valuation List indicates that Edwards was then living on Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge and that the houses were unfinished. The Valuation List for 1915 lists the value of each building as $5500 an d states that Edwards was then living at 63 Bedford Street (the addresses of the duplexes at that time were 53, 55, 57 an d 59 Bedford Street). -^-' 3Vt^ ^+3 ^U 1^. u The early tenants of t he buildings can be characterized as middle class an d appear to have changed fairly frequently. The 1922 directory (the earliest to have listings by address) indicates that 53 Bedford Street was then occupied by John McCullough, foreman electrician an d Edward McKenzie, station agent of the Lexington Depot. The other residents were - 55 Bedford Street: James H. Russell, asst. chief claim dept. U.S.I.R. an d Charles Goodwin, boiler inspector; 57 Bedford Street: Hubert Broderick, special agent and Daniel Worwood, insurance agent; and 59 Bedford Street: Edward Kelly, chauffeur, and Carl Stucke of Colonial Garage. William J. Edwards died in March 1917 an d by 1918 his widow, Florence, had sold all of the duplexes except what is now 81-83 Bedford Street which she continued to own until 1941 when it was sold to William and Anna Rice. Anna Rice retained ownership of the building until 1981. Lois Lane was laid out between 73-75 Bedford Street an d 77-79 Bedford Street in 1975 and these two buildings were converted to condominiums in 1976. q Recommended as a National Register District. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address Lexington 69-71, 73-75, 77-79, 81-83 Bedford Massachusetts Historical Commission Area(s) Form No. Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard AO Boston, Massachusetts 02125 BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Lexington Directories, various years. Lexington Minute-man, August 15, 1913; November 5, 1914. Lexington, Town of List of Persons, various years. Lexington, Town of. Valuation Lists. Assessors' Office, Town Hall, Lexington, Massachusetts. Sanborn Map Co. Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. New York: Sanborn Map Co., 1887, 1892, 1897, 1903, 1908, 1918, 1927, 1935. Microfilm. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address Lexington 69 -71, 73-75, 77-79, 81-83 Bedford Massachusetts Historical Commission Area(s) Form No. Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard AO Boston, Massachusetts 02125 DISTRICT DATA SHEET AREA AO BEDFORD STREET DUPLEXES Tax Map #Resource Address Date MHC # 57/123 Duplex 69-71 Bedford Street 1913-1914 1468 57/145-73 57/145-75 Duplex 73-75 Bedford Street 1913-1914 1469 57/145-77 57/145-79 Duplex 77-79 Bedford Street 1913-1914 1470 57/119 Duplex 81-83 Bedford Street 1913-1914 1471 Town Property Address Lexington 69-71, 73-75, 77-79, 81-83 Bedford Area(s) Form No. AO INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 69-71 Bedford Street 73-75 Bedford Street Town Property Address Lexington 69-71, 73-75, 77-79, 81-83 Bedford Area(s) Form No. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 77-79 Bedford Street 4 81-83 Bedford Street Town Property Address Lexington 69-71, 73-75, 77-79, 81-83 Bedford Area(s) Form No. AO INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 77-79, 81-83 Bedford Street