Kensington Avenue 37.pdf
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. FORM B − BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Topographic or Assessor's Map Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Date (month /year):
March, 2010 Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 31A-237 Easthampton NTH.548 Town: Northampton Place: (neighborhood or village) Address: 37 Kensington Avenue Historic Name:
Myron M. Elmer House Uses: Present: Single-family residence Original: Single-family residence Date of Construction: 1891-1894 Source: Registry of Deeds & Directory Style/Form: Queen
Anne Architect/Builder: Exterior Material: Foundation: brick Wall/Trim: asbestos Roof: slate Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Garage Major Alterations (with dates): Siding added, windows
replaced, ca. 1950-2000. Condition: good Moved: no | x | yes | | Date Acreage: 0.114 acres Setting: This house is on a small lot shaded by a large maple tree.
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [37 KENSINGTON AVENUE] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 1 NTH.548 _x__ 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. The asbestos siding on this two-and-a-half story Queen Anne style house obscures the clapboard
and shingle siding that would have made it a picturesque composition, but its varied plan and elevation remain to convey its style. The house has a two-story angled bay window on its
east façade and a set-back tower under a hipped roof on its northeast corner. A cross-gable on the south elevation has a two-story bay beneath it, repeating the motif of the bay window
from the east façade. The house has a two-bay, hipped roof garage with a through cornice dormer, which is relatively elaborate and one of two similar versions on this street. 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. From Form B of 1980: “Kensington Avenue was opened up in 1890 through the Aaron Breck homestead on Elm Street. The street was quickly developed and became one of the most
‘aristocratic’ of the city’s streets. This house was built for Myron Elmer, a driver for the Smith Carr Baking Co. Mr. Elmer is first listed here in the 1894-1895 directory.” BIBLIOGRAPHY
and/or REFERENCES Beers, F. W. County Atlas of Hampshire Massachusetts, New York, 1873. Hales, John G. Plan of the Town or Northampton in the County of Hampshire, 1831. Miller, D. L.
Atlas of the the City of Northampton and Town of Easthampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, 1895. Walker, George H. and Company. Atlas of Northampton City, Massachusetts,
Boston, 1884. Walling, Henry F. Map of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, New York, 1860. Registry of Deeds: Bk. 686-P.130, 444-311, 442-131
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [37 KENSINGTON AVENUE] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 2 NTH.548 National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form Check all that apply: Individually eligible Eligible only in an historic district Contributing to a potential
historic district Potential historic district Criteria: A B C D Criteria Considerations: A B C D E F G Statement of Significance by _____Bonnie Parsons___________________ The criteria
that are checked in the above sections must be justified here. This property would contribute to a potential historic district that would encompass the residential/institutional side
streets laid out on the south side of Elm Street in Northampton Center between Main Street on the east and the west boundary of Childs Park on the west. This potential historic district
is significant according to criteria A and C and would have local significance. These residential streets are significant according to criterion A for their reflection of the development
of Northampton from the mid-19th century as a relatively affluent community that supported several private schools for young women, which prepared them after 1875 for attendance at Smith
College, and the Clarke School where deaf students were given an education that thoroughly prepared them for the hearing world. The residences in this area made a shift from gentlemen’s
estates to accommodation of the growing middle class in Northampton during the 19th century with businessmen, scholars, teachers, doctors, and retired farmers. According to criterion
C this district would be significant for the range of historical styles that it includes. Gothic Revival, Italianate, French Second Empire, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles are
all well-represented within a landscape of individual large lots, and streetscapes that were laid out and developed at one time.