FORM B -BUILDING

Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116

Assessor' number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number

Town-Winthrop

Place (neighborhood or village) Cottage Park

Address 156 Somerset Avenue

Historic Name H o r a c e W - F ° ' q e r H ° U S e

Use: Present private single family residence

Original same

Date of Construction C.1901-1902

Source Winthrop Directories

Style/Form Shingle/Queen A./Col. Rev., rectangular

Architect/Builder undetermined

Exterior Material

Foundation rubble stone

Wall wood shingles, wood trim

Roof gambrel

Outbuildings/Secondary Structures 2-car cement block garage at rear of property

Major Alterations (with dates) Very intact

Recorded by

Organization-

Edward W. Gordon

Winthrop CDO+Historic Comm

Date(month/day/year) September, 1993

Condition good

Moved | [ yes | x | no

Acreage less than one acre Situated on densely built up street of turn of the Setting.

century residences.

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BUILDING FORM

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION 1 I see continuation sheet Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.

156 Somerset Street is a charming example of an early 1900's residence which artfully blends Shingle Style form and materials with Queen Anne diamond shaped sash treatments and Colonial Revival porch elements. This house rises 2-stories from a rubble stone basement to a broad gambrel roof. The main facade is dominated by a full length front porch with Tuscan columns and slat work railings. To the right of the porch entrance, instead of a column, is a short, wooden ball topped post. The main facade's first floor features a slightly off center front door with side lights which is flanked on the right by an octagonal bay and on the left by a casement (?) window with diamond shaped panes. Projecting from the west wall is a two story octagonal bay. In general windows contain 9/1 wood sash. Particularly noteworthy is the pair of pedimented dormer windows which contain diamond shaped upper sash and are flanked by panneled pilasters. This house's design is characterized by a palpable tension between Medieval /Romantic (Queen Anne and Shingle Styles) and Classicism/Rennaissance (Colonial Revival) architectural traditions. The diamond and multi pane window sash alone speak to these two very different historic architectural stylistic traditions . This house illustrates the stylistic eclectism of turn of the century American suburban architecture.

( HISTORICAL NARRATIVE LJ see continuation sheet

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.

156 Somerset Avenue was built c. 1901-1902. This house's land was part of the Ellen V. Tewksbury estate. A Suffolk County Registry of Deeds plan dated June, 1881, shows a tract that extends from Pleasant Street, across Johnson Avenue to Boston Harbor containing Somerset Avenue and 39 house lots . #156's lot is lot #11 on this plan. This house's first owner was Horace W. Folger, Boston pilot, who lived here from 1902-d 910. By 1914, this house was owned by Eunice T. and Orson M. Arnold. He was a partner in the Arnold Winsor Company at 14 Boston Fish Pier, South Boston. Arnold and his wife Eunice lived here until c1920. From c.1922 until at least 1947, the James Higgins family lived here. He was a sales manager in Boston. His widow Margaret M. Higgins lived here during the 1940's along with their daughter (?) Margaret R. Higgins, librarian at Winthrop High School.

( BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES see continuation sheet

( Winthrop Maps/Atlases-1973,1886,1896,1906 and 1914 Chelsea/Winthrop Directories -1899,1901,1902/03,1906 Winthrop Directories-1911,1913,1916/17, 1924,1936,1942 and 1947 Suffolk County Registry of Deeds- Plan of Somerset Avenue in Book 1567, Page 635

[ ] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.

file:///Ajrv-f

I

INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, Boston

Community: Form No:

Property Name: 156 Somerset Avenue

Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below.