HomeMy WebLinkAboutarea-gFORM A - AREA
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
294 Washington Street, Boston, MA. 02108
Form numbers in this area Area letter
365-3661UUq-('11 G
Lexington
area (if any) Grant/Fletcher/
Yhe-4-idaOl
A/Sherman Streets
date or period late nineteenth C,
Sketch map. Draw a general map of the area indicating properties within it.
Number each property for which individual inventory forms have been completed.
Label streets (including route numbers, if any) and indicate north. (Attach a
separate sheet if space he e is not sufficient)
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❑ Recorded by Anne Grady
OrganizationLexington Historical Commission
Date April, 1984
(Staple additional sheets here)
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICLANCE of area.(Describe physical setting, general character,
and architecturally significant structures).
The Sherman/Grant/Sheridan/Fletcher street area occupies level land to
the southeast of Meriam Hill. Development of the portion of the area closest
to Massachusetts Avenue rather quickly in the 1890s is reflected in a cohesive
streetscape. Houses are relatively modest, two-story, wood frame structures,
oriented with their gable ends toward the street for the most part, and are
embellished with a few simple features characteristic of the period of
construction: porches with turned posts, balustrades, bay windows, overhanging
eaves with brackets, and an occasional turret. Even though some houses have
lost their original finishes, the area retains substantial architectural
integrity.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE of area. (Explain development of area, what caused it,
and how it affected community; be specific).
Grant, Sherman, Fletcher, and Sheridan streets were laid out in the late
1880s on land owned by David Wood Muzzey and Charles G. Fletcher. Why these
men chose to subdivide their land has not been documented, but reasons must
have included the increased demand for housing caused by the arrival in the
1880s and 1890s of many suburbanites and those providing support services for
them. A more immediate reason may have been the establishment of a precision
gearworks in the area in 1887, the Lexington Gear Works at 31 Fletcher Avenue.
The first reference to development of the area occurred in 1887 when the
local newspaper states, "Mr. C.G. Fletcher is planning to build three houses to
be rented at moderate prices . . located on a street of Main St., just this
side of Woburn St." (Lexington Minute Man, April 1, 1887). By 1889 Fletcher
had built seven cottages.
The Lexington Minute Man continued to chronicle the development of the
area, stating in 1891: "The house building of Mr. Muzzey on Grant St. is nearly
completed and will make an attractive home. Mr. Muzzey built this house to
demonstrate the fact that there is a demand for houses renting for $25 per
month and now there are likely to be others following his example."
By 1898, 25 houses were built; perhaps three-quarters of them were still
rental properties. By 1906 two more houses had been built and two-thirds were
owner occupied.
Residents of the area being rentors are not listed on the maps and are
therefore difficult to locate in the directories (1899, 1906). Occupations
(see Continuation Sheet)
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Lexington Minute Man, April 1, 1887, August 22, 1887, May 1, 1891, May 22, 1896,
June 12, 1896, August 7, 1896, September 25, 1896, November 6, 1896.
1875 atlas
1889 atlas
1898 atlas
(see Continuation Sheet)
2M-6/80
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET
MASSACHUSETTS H I STORI CAL CCY tII SS I ON
Office of the Secretary, Boston
Community:
Form No:
Lexington
G
Property Nam • Grant/Fletcher/Sherida
Sherman Streets
Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
identified tend to be those related to the railroad, such as engineer or
baggage master, or trade or service occupations, such as clerk, janitor, carpen-
ter, and gas house engineer.
The area is significant as one of the few areas in Lexington conceived
primarily as a rental neighborhood.
Staple to Inventory form at bottom
AREA G
GRANT/FLETCHER/SHERIDAN/SHERMAN STREETS
Address
Style
Date (if known)
MHC Number
6 Fletcher Ave.
Italianate cotta aCinbee,n inn, 1857;
moved ca. 1877
669
7 Fletcher Ave.
Italianate c. 1887
670
8 Fletcher Ave.
Italianate 1875
671,672
10-12 Fletcher Ave.
Italianate c. 1887
11-13 Fletcher Ave.
Colonial Revival
TH -If
16 Fletcher Ave.
Italianate/Stick c. 1887
17 Fletcher Ave.
Italianate c. 1887
20 Fletcher Ave.
Italianate/Stick c. 1887
21 Fletcher Ave.
Italianate/Stick c. 1887
22 Fletcher Ave.
Queen Anne G 9 0 0
24 Fletcher Ave.
Queen Anne
( 9
28 Fletcher Ave.
Bungalow 1927
30 Fletcher Ave.
Bungalow 1928-1930
31 Fletcher Ave.
Industrial (Jefferson Union Factory) c. 1890
365
36 Fletcher Ave.
Bungalow 1928-1930
38 Fletcher Ave.
Bungalow 1926-1928
40 Fletcher Ave.
? (two-story, front -gabled) 1926
or 1927
42 Fletcher Ave.
Bungalow 1927-1930
44 Fletcher Ave.
Bungalow 1928-1928
46 Fletcher Ave.
Bungalow 1927
48 Fletcher Ave.
Bungalow 1927-1930
50 Fletcher Ave.
Bungalow 1927-1930
15 Grant St.
Dutch Colonial Revival?
22 Grant St.
Bungalow
34 Grant St.
Shingle Style?
9
35 Grant St.
Queen Anne
37 Grant St.
Queen Anne
41 Grant St.
Colonial Revival
47 Grant St.
Queen Anne (Ch u,/ e,S HaO n n 1896
677
49 Grant St.
Dutch Colonial Revival
53 Grant St.
Dutch Colonial Revival
lA Sheridan St.
Queen Anne L ( Q Q
3 Sheridan St.
Queen Anne
5 Sheridan St.
Queen Anne
7 Sheridan St.
Queen Anne e
8-10 Sheridan St.
Greek Revival (John Bacon House) moved ca. 1902 from
site of old high school
(later Muzzey J.H.S.)
on Mass. Ave. when
high school built
12 Sheridan St.
Greek Revival (ell of John Bacon House) moved ca. 1902
1-3 Sherman St.
Dutch Colonial Revival?
2 Sherman St.
Queen Anne � Lj (rq n 1893-1894
676
5-7 Sherman St.
? (cement block foundation, exposed
rafter ends, shaped fascia boards)
6 Sherman St.
Queen Anne
10 Sherman St.
Colonial Revival I
14 Sherman St.
Federal AAL-Piten —1809-1822;
c-Awbv/ne)
moved
1906-1918 from Mass.
Ave.
675
15 Sherman St.
Queen Anne ari S
17 Sherman St.
Dutch Colonial Revival
19 Sherman St.
Queen Anne
21 Sherman St.
Dutch Colonial Revival
C / / Q
22-24 Sherman St.
Dutch Colonial Revival Mu7,2e
23-25 Sherman St.
? (flat roof, fieldstone fo dation)
s C
27 Sherman St.
-Queet. Ame--
28 Sherman St.
Queen Anne/Stick Style
c. 1890
366
29 Sherman St.
Queen Anne Ju f Mol c
1902
674
31 Sherman St.
Queen Anne k G
1902
673