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Home My WebLink Aboutarea-p^3 n c-^ i7L/3 FORM A - AREA Massachusetts Historical Commission 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 Assessor's Sheets USGS Quad Area Le tt er Form Numbers in Area 22 Boston N.P 643, 1325-1342 Town: Lexington Place (neighborhood or village): East Lexington Name of Area: Curve Street Present Use: Residential Construction Dates or Period: c.1855-present Overall Condition: fair to good Major Intrusions and Alterations: siding, new windows, additions Acreage: approx. 7 acres Recorded by: Lisa Mausolf Organization: Lexington Historical Commission Date (month/year): July 2000 Mass 3e . 2 ^^Zz 2 Z$zz`^33 tL^^ i l t om-'i 3 133 31 AREA FORM ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Describe architectural, structural and landscape features and evaluate in terms of other areas within the community. Located to the east of Massachusetts Avenue in East Lexington, Curve Street is a small, intimately-scaled U-shaped street which is lined by modest wood-frame houses ranging in age from the late 18th century to the present day, with most of the houses dating to the second half of the 19th century. Set on small lots and close to the street, the houses form a compact streetscape. Unfortunately, the use of artificial siding is prevalent and many of the buildings have individually lost much of their architectural integrity due to siding, the installation of new windows, the enclosure or reconstruction of porches and new entrances. {Note: The resources on Mass. Ave. shown on the attached sketch map have been inventoried individually, and so are not described here.] The oldest extant house on the street, 5-7 Curve Street (MHC #643), was moved to its present location on Curve Street between 1924 and 1926 from around the corner on Massachusetts Avenue (present site of 789 Mass. Ave.). The 2 1/2-story, 5 x 3-bay, side-gabled dwelling, is clad with vinyl siding, and set on a fieldstone foundation which is indicative of its 20th century move. The double center entrance and 2/2 windows are both alterations. It was altered to serve as a two-family dwelling prior to 1854. The first four houses actually constructed on the street are all on the east side of Curve Street and were all built between 1855 and 1875. The c.1850 two-story house at 25 Curve Street has been heavily rehabilitated in recent years. The distinctive Greek Revival- style entrance is framed by sidelights and transom lights and is capped by a peaked lintel. The Flint House (27 Curve Street) is a 2 1/2-story, 3 x 2-bay side-gabled building clad in vinyl siding and which displays a low-pitched central gable wall dormer. All of the windows are 1/1 replacement sash and a large modern addition has been constructed in recent years. A single-story porch originally spanned the facade. The house at 17-19 Curve Street is a two-story, 4 x 1-bay double house which is set above a brick foundation. Thy, building is sheathed in vinyl siding and a 20th century sunporch spans the facade, replacing what was originally a smaller porch. The house at 15 Curve Street is a 2 1/2-story, pediment-fronted dwelling. Alterations include the wood shingle exterior and the enllosure of the front porch. The house at 11 Curve Street is a small mansard-roofed cottage which rests on a brick foundation. It was probably constructed shortly after the 1875 map. It has been sheathed in aluminum siding and the front porch has been enclosed. The c. 1880 house at 8 Curve Street is a 1 1/2-story, 3 x 1-bay dwelling which is notable for its high kneewall and jerkinhead dormers on the front roof slope. The building has been sheathed in aluminum siding with wood shingles covering the rear elevation; it rests on a brick foundation. The siding on the east end has recently been removed, revealing the original clapboarded exterior and simple frieze. The center entrance is a modern alteration and the windows contain a replacement 6/6 sash. The row of four Queen Anne-style cottages on the west side of Curve Street (10, 12, 14, & 16 Curve Street) were all built for the East Lexington Finance Club and were built with slight variations on the same basic sidehall plan. The houses at 16 and 14 Curve Street display a double front gable with the other two houses having a single gablefront. All of the buildings except 10 Curve Street retain their original decorative raking and all of the buildings have a three-sided bay window on the north side. Despite the application of aluminum siding, 12 Curve Street is the most intact. The front porch retains its turned posts, stick frieze and geometric railing and the windows contain 2,2 sash. The c.1890 house at 3 Curve Street is a 2 1/2-story, cross-gable, vinyl-sided dwelling with a wrap around porch spanning the facade and west elevation. The 2 1/2-story, front-gabled double house at 26 Curve Street appears to date to the late 19th century but has been sheathed in modern wood shingles. Limited construction occurred on vacant lots in the early 20th century. The house at 18 Curve Street is a 1 1/2-story, gambrel-roofed building constructed c. 1920 but which has seen the addition of vinyl siding and new windows. Two houses were constructed on the street in the post-World War II period. The house at 29 Curve Street is a two-story, side-gabled Colonial Revival house with a segmental pediment over the center entrance, flanked by fluted pilasters with 6/6 and 8/8 windows. The house at 22 Curve Street datIs to the 1960s. A new duplex is currently under construction at 31 Curve Street, replacing a c.1948 Cape Cod structure q Recommended as a National Register District. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Lexington Curve Street Area(s) Form No. 1211-7 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Explain historical development of the area. Discuss how this area relates to the historical development of the community. What is now Curve Street (originally known as Flint Street) is notable as the second subdivision laid out in Lexington. It was laid out in house lots in 1855 (five years after Muzzey Street) off Massachusetts Avenue on land that was originally part of the Bowman Tavern property (837 Mass. Ave., MHC #227). The plan of the subdivision is in the Lexington Historical Society archives. According to Edwin Worthen, Curve Street was originally known as "Flintville". Worthen states that Nathaniel Flint laid out Curve Street and built the earlier houses on the eastern side, adjacent to the railroad. Inspection of historic maps indicates that four houses had been built on the east side of Curve Street by 1875 (15, 19, 25, 27 Curve Street.) The 1889 map of East Lexington indicates that at that time George Flint (Nathaniel's son) owned 27 Curve Street. Two additional houses (8 and 11 Curve Street) were constructed between 1875 and 1889. Five more were built prior to 1898. These included the four cottages on the west side of Curve Street constructed by the East Lexington Finance Club. The Club was formed in 1892 with a membership of twenty-five and made investments in real estate, primarily on Curve Street. Assessors' records indicate that by 1895 the club had purchased a 20,000 square foot lot of land on Curve Street and by the following year's assessment two houses had been completed with two more under construction. On May 24. 1895 the Minute-man reported that a builder named Phillips had been engaged to build two houses on Curve Street for the Finance Club. On December 13, 1895, the paper reported that the foundation had been laid for a new house on Curve Street to be built b y the Finance Club. A Mr. Johnson was the contractor. The Finance Club continued to have extensive dealings in Curve Street real estate into the early 20th century. In 1901 the club also owned one of the corner lots of land on Mass. Avenue and Curve Street. The Baptists briefly considered built a church on Curve Street but this was never carried out. The newspaper reports that in 1903 authoress Camille Fairchild purchased one of the Finance houses on Curve Street, which had previously been occupied by Wellington. In 1905 the Minute-man reported that the Club purchased the old Flint Estate (27 Curve Street) from Charles Spaulding and was improving it. The 1906 map shows that at that time four of the houses were owned by the Finance Club. In 1909 the Club purchased the real estate of Isaiah Palmer (26 Curve Street). At its height in 1920 the East Lexington Finance Club owned the buildings at 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 26, & 27 Curve Street. The following year the Club began to sell off its holdings and in 1922 only owned 26 Curve Street. Historically the houses on Curve Street were home to working class residents. In the late 19th century occupations of residents included laundry operator, farmer and stone mason. In the 20th century some of the occupations included farmer, accountant and railroad employees including motorman and train repairer. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey of Lexington, Book 1, Area P. 1984. Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington, revised and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913, vol. 1, p. 515. Kelley, Beverly Allison. Lexington: A Century of Photographs. Lexington Historical Society, 1980. p. 132. Lexington Minute-man, 5/24/1895; 12/13/1895; 11/16/1901; 4/4/1903; 5/30/1908; 8/21/1909. Worthen, Edwin B. Tracing the Past in Lexington, Massachusetts. New York: Vantage Press, 1998. p. 47. Subdivision plan of 1855. Lexington Historical Society archives. 1875 atlas 1889 atlas 1898 atlas 1906 atlas Sanborn Insurance Maps, 1908, 1918, 1927, 1935, 1961. Lexington Curve Street Area(s) Form No. P Town Property AddressINVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 DISTRICT DATA SHEET AREA P - CURVE STREET Assessors Resource Address Style Date MHC# 22/27 House 3 Curve Street Vict. eclectic c. 1890 1325 22/26 Williams-5-7 Curve Street Georgian (alt.)before 643 Clapp-Munroe 1798 House (moved 1924-6) 22/28 House 8 Curve Street alt.?c. 1880 1326 22/29 E. Lex.10 Curve Street Queen Anne c. 1895 1327 Finance Club Dwelling 22/26 House 11 Curve Street Fr. Sec. Emp.c. 1875 1328 22/30A E. Lex.12 Curve Street Queen Anne c. 1895 1329 Finance Club Dwelling 22/31A E. Lex.14 Curve Street Queen Anne c. 1895 1330 Finance Club Dwelling 22/25 House 15 Curve Street Greek Revival betw. 1855 &1331 1875 22/32 E. Lex.16 Curve Street Queen Anne c. 1895 1332 Finance Club Dwelling 22/24 Double House 17-19 Curve Street betty.1333 1855 & 1875 22/33 House 18 Curve Street Dutch Col.c.1920 1334 22/34 House 22 Curve Street c. 1962 1335 22/23B House 25 Curve Street Italianate betw. 1855 &1336 1875 22/35A House 26 Curve Street No Style c.1900 1337 22/22 Flint House 27 Curve Street Italianate betw. 1855 &1338 1875 22/21 House 29 Curve Street Colonial Rev.1947 1339 22/20 Double House 31 Curve Street 2000 1340 22/41A Childs Bldg.807-809 Mass. Ave.Italianate 1837?222 22/40 Double House 821-823 Mass. Ave.Colonial Rev.c. 1900 226 22/39-2 Bowman 837 Mass. Ave.Federal/Greek c.1820 227 Tavern Revival 22/38 Childs 847 Mass. Ave.Italianate after 1853 228 Residence 22/37 House 851 Mass. Ave.French Second after 1875 229 Empire 22/37 House 853 Mass. Ave.1341 22/36A House 859 Mass. Ave.c. 1980 1342 22/19 House 881 Mass. Ave.Federal/Col.by 1828 233 Rev. Lexington Curve Street Area(s) Form No. P Town Property AddressINVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 3 Curve Street 5-7 Curve Street Lexington Curve Street Area(s) Form No. P Town Property AddressINVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 10, 12, 14, 16 Curve Street 8, 10, 12, 14 Curve Street Property Address Curve Street Area(s) Form No. Town Lexington INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 8 & 15 Curve Street 19 & 15 Curve Street Property Address Curve Street Area(s) Form No. Town Lexington INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 19, 15, 11 Curve Street 25 Curve Street Property Address Curve Street Area(s) Form No. Town Lexington INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 \ c\ ' 27 Curve Street 22 & 26 Curve Street Town Property Address Lexington Curve Street Area(s) Form No. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Archives Building 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 31 & 29 Curve Street 26 Curve Street