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Home My WebLink Aboutbedford-street_031412/12 Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. FORM B  BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Locus Map Recorded by: Marilyn Fenollosa Organization: Lexington Historical Commission Date (month / year): March 2026 Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 78-111 Concord LEX.2518 Town/City: Lexington Place: (neighborhood or village): Address: 314 Bedford Street Historic Name: Parker School Uses: Present: Condominiums Original: Elementary School Date of Construction: 1924 Source: Mass. Archives Building Plans List Style/Form: Craftsman Architect/Builder: Willard D. Brown Exterior Material: Foundation: Granite Wall/Trim: Brick Roof: Asphalt Shingle Outbuildings/Secondary Structures (None) Major Alterations (with dates): 1929, Willard D. Brown; 1950, Kilham, Hopkins, Greeley & Brodie Condition: Good Moved: no ☒ yes ☐ Date: Acreage: 3.51 ac Setting: On a major arterial street near Route 128 abutting a wooded area and town conservation facilities RECEIVED MAR 30 2026 MASS. HIST. COMM. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 314 BEDFORD ST MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 LEX.2518 ☐ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. 314 Bedford Street is a free standing two-story brick building set on a granite foundation with both flat and hipped roof sections. The school building had rectangular wings and contained a gross area of approximately 20,000 square feet on approximately 3 acres of land; it had been substantially expanded in 1950 and was again enlarged in 1979 when the building was repurposed for condominiums. The asphalt tile roof is set off by deep eaves, with wooden decorative brackets across the original building facades. Large windows with capstones grace the front façade; the building was originally accessed by a grand brick staircase that has since been removed. Willard D. Brown (1871-1944), designer of the Parker School, was a long-time Lexington resident on Meriam Street and noted architect with an office in Boston. He was graduated from Harvard in 1892 and received an engineering degree from MIT. His works included many prominent Lexington homes, including “Ponywold” (1902) (LEX.596) for Josiah Willard Hayden, younger brother of Charles Hayden, the investment banker and philanthropist; “Journeys’ End” (1905-06) (LEX.591) for Hayden; “Ogeedankee” (1907) (LEX.385), for his brother, Fred K. Brown and his own home at 20 Meriam Street (1906) (LEX.382). His public buildings included the Cary Memorial Library (1906) (LEX.34) and Isaac Harris Cary Memorial Hall (1927) (LEX.6), the Hancock Congregational Church (1892) (LEX.66) and the Munroe Primary School (1904) (LEX.137), among others. His architecture reflected the “Eclecticism” philosophy – influenced by Colonial Revival, Arts and Crafts, Italian Villa, Bungalow, Japanese styles - prevailing at MIT and other eastern architects at the time, but also even occasionally embraced elements of Frank Lloyd Wright. Brown was an active participant on Lexington town boards and committees, including the Planning Board, on which he had much to do in formulating the town’s zoning laws. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community. The Parker School was built on Bedford Street in North Lexington in 1924 but due to population growth from the nearby Lexington Manor subdivision, an addition was necessary just five years later. Both the original brick school and 1929 addition were designed by Willard D. Brown. The school closed in June, 1978 due to declining enrollment and was subsequently converted to condominiums. The building is named for Captain John Parker (1729 - 1775) of the Lexington Minute Men, who led the resistance to British troops on the Lexington Green on April 19, 1775. Parker was a descendant of Deacon Thomas Parker, a founder of Reading, Massachusetts, and the grandfather of reformer and abolitionist Theodore Parker. Prior to his INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 314 BEDFORD ST MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 3 LEX.2518 service in Lexington, Parker had been a sergeant in the French and Indian War, and participated in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham that resulted in the fall of Quebec. In civilian life, Parker was a farmer and mechanic. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES American Architects Directory, https://aiahistoricaldirectory.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AHDAA/overview?homepageId=20644018 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Archives, Building Plans Drummey Rosanne Anderson, Lexington School Facilities Study 1974 Grady, Anne A., “The Architecture of Willard D. Brown”, unpublished paper submitted to Boston University AM785 1986 Obituary, “Willard D. Brown Passes Away”, Lexington Minute-Man, July 27, 1944, pg. 1 Parker, Elizabeth S., “Captain John Parker” Proceedings of the Lexington Historical Society Vol 1 (1886-1889) Town of Lexington, Historical Commission website, “Early Modern Period” https://www.lexingtonma.gov/915/Early-Modern-Period Town of Lexington, School Sites Conversion Committee, “Surplus School Building – Development Opportunity”, August, 1979 “Willard Dalrymple Brown”, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/228161430/willard-dalrymple-brown. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 314 BEDFORD ST MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 4 LEX.2518 Front façade detail Roof detail Historic photo (undated)(Courtesy Lexington History Museums) INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET LEXINGTON 314 BEDFORD ST MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 5 LEX.2518 Drummey Rosanne Anderson, Lexington School Facilities Study 1974 Courtesy Lexington History Museums