FORM B - BUILDING



FORM B ( BUILDING

Massachusetts Historical Commission

Massachusetts Archives Building

220 Morrissey Boulevard

Boston, Massachusetts 02125

Photograph

|[pic] |

Locus Map (North is Up)

|[pic] |

|Recorded by: Jennifer B. Doherty |

|Organization: Medford Historical Commission |

|Date (month / year): February, 2019 |

Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number

|L-04-78 | |Lexington, MA| |AE | |MDF.743 |

|Town/City: Medford |

|Place: (neighborhood or village): West Medford |

|Address: 421 High Street |

|Historic Name: Edward and Penelope Shaw House |

|Uses: Present: Funeral Home |

|Original: Single Family Dwelling |

|Date of Construction: 1880-1889 |

|Source: Maps, census records, deeds |

|Style/Form: Altered / End House |

|Architect/Builder: Unknown |

|Exterior Material: |

|Foundation: Parged concrete |

|Wall/Trim: Brick veneer/aluminum clapboard / Aluminum |

|Roof: Asphalt shingle |

|Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: None |

|Major Alterations (with dates): Conversion to a funeral home, additions at side |

|and rear, application of synthetic siding materials, windows replaced (late 20th |

|century) |

| |

|Condition: Fair |

|Moved: no yes Date: |

|Acreage: 4,680 sq. ft. |

|Setting: At the eastern edge of the commercial node of West Medford. To the |

|east are primarily larger, turn of the 20th century multi-family dwellings, while |

|to the west are early 20th century commercial blocks. |

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 Edward and Penelope Shaw House is a heavily-altered two-story end house constructed in the 1880s. Constructed as a single-family dwelling, the house was converted into a funeral home in the late 20th century.

The main body of the house is a two-story end house, two piles deep. It features a gabled square projection covering the rear pile of the east elevation with a one-story flat-roofed polygonal bay at the base, and a two-story ell at the rear, flush with the east elevation of the main body but set back a few feet from the west elevation. Spaces added for funeral home use include a one-story enclosed porch with a flat roof across the façade; a two-story flat-roofed addition covering the west elevation of the main body and ell; and a one-story three bay garage extending from the rear of the building (see aerial image, below). A ramp at the rear of the east elevation is covered by a cloth awning.

The Shaw House’s foundation today is parged concrete, and the roof is covered in asphalt shingles. The first floor of the façade and the first pile of the side elevations are covered in brick veneer; the rest of the house is covered in aluminum clapboard siding with a wide reveal. The house features a variety of vinyl windows, including one-over-one sash, several multi-part casement windows, two oriel windows on the first floor of the façade, and two three-part picture windows on the second floor of the façade. The house features two entry doors on the façade, one in the east bay and the second in the addition to the west of the main body of the house. This second entrance is covered by an enclosed cloth and vinyl canopy. The application of siding has removed all historic trim from the building.

Sited on the north side of High Street, the Shaw House faces south across the street. The house sits close to the sidewalk, with a few feet of plantings separating it from the public way. The present owners also own the house to the east, at 417 High Street, and the lot to the north, at 423 High Street. Both are paved for parking to serve the funeral home.

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 Edward and Penelope Shaw House was likely constructed by the Shaws between 1880 and 1889. Edward (ca. 1841-1901) and Penelope Gregor Shaw (ca. 1844-1915) were natives of Prince Edward Island, Canada, who married in Medford in 1870.[1] In 1876, Edward Shaw purchased two parcels of land abutting each other from George M. Teele for $1,000; neither deed mentions any buildings, and the house is not marked on the 1875 map.[2] The Shaws were recorded in Medford when the 1880 census was taken, living with two of their children and Edward Shaw’s nephew. However the names on their census page do not correspond to either the 1875 map or the 1889 map, suggesting they were living elsewhere in the city. By 1889, “E. Shaw” is marked at the house.

The couple had four children: Harry L. Shaw (b. ca. 1872), Edward P. Shaw (b. ca. 1876), Viola M. Shaw (b. ca. 1882), and James N. Shaw (b. ca. 1892). The Shaw’s marriage record and the 1880 census listed Edward Shaw as an expressman, but the 1900 census and his death record a year later listed him as an ice dealer. In 1900 the Shaws were recorded in the census at 421 High Street, living with their daughter Viola and son James. Viola M. Shaw was working as a violin teacher, while young James N. Shaw was at school. In 1910, after the death of Edward Shaw, widow Penelope Shaw was living with her four children at the house. Viola M. Shaw continued to work as a violin teacher, while the three Shaw sons worked in a retail grocery store.

Ownership of the Shaw House after the early 20th century is difficult to establish. The property’s deeds are Registered Land, which only has limited, late 20th century coverage at the Middlesex County South Registry of Deeds. However, as the property has had the street address of 421 High Street since the early 20th century, it is possible to establish some residents of the house.

In 1920, the census recorded the Wingate family at the house; they were listed elsewhere in Medford in 1910 and 1930, suggesting their residency was not long-term.[3] John E. Wingate, listed as renting the property, was living with his wife Florence and their four children. The Wingates were English immigrants, as were their two oldest children; the two youngest were born in Massachusetts. Based on the age differences between the children, the family likely arrived in the United States around 1915. John E. Wingate worked as a cutter in a factory, while his daughter, Dora, was a stenographer in a real estate office.

In 1930, Charles Hadley was renting the Shaw House.[4] He was living with his wife Rosalie, their four adult children, a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter. Hadley worked as a wood machinist for an automobile company; son Harry was a washer with an automobile company; son Leslie was an architect; and son Bernard was an odd job laborer. Like the Wingates, the Hadleys were English immigrants, all except their granddaughter, who was born in Massachusetts. The house was listed as vacant in the 1938 Medford city directory, so it is unknown who was living at the house when the 1940 census was taken.

Norbert H. Fahey acquired the property before 1952; that year he conveyed it to Concetta Cincotti.[5] No records of Fahey were found in Medford. Concetta Cincotti (d. 2003) was the daughter of Italian immigrant Ciro Cincotti (1883-1963), who operated a funeral home first in Boston’s North End, and later moved the business to Medford.[6] In 2000, Concetta Cincotti sold the property to Ronald C. and Dolores D. DeFronzo; the two may be related, as Concetta Cincotti is identified as a “special aunt” of DeFronzo in her obituary.[7] DeFronzo continued to own and operate the funeral home until his death in late 2018.[8] As noted above, DeFronzo also owned some of the surrounding properties, to allow for additional parking for the funeral home.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES

1875 F. W. Beers, County Atlas of Middlesex, Massachusetts.

1889 Geo. H. Walker & Co., Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

1898 Geo. W. Stadly & Co., Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

1900 Geo. W. Stadly & Co., Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 1.

1897, 1903, 1910, 1936, 1936-1950 Sanborn Insurance Atlases.

: see footnotes

Middlesex County South Registry of Deeds (MCSRD): see footnotes, includes recorded date

[pic]

The façade and west elevation of the Edward and Penelope Shaw House.

[pic]

The Edward and Penelope Shaw House is highlighted in this aerial image. Note the additions on the west elevation that are distinct from the main body of the historic house, as well as the garage at the rear of the house. From maps.

-----------------------

[1] : Find-A-Grave; Massachusetts [Medford], Death Records, 1841-1915; Massachusetts [Medford], Marriage Records, 1840-1915; US Federal Census of Population for 1880, 1900, 1910.

[2] MCSRD Book 1403, Page 561, July 19, 1876; MCSRD Book 1403, Page 563, July 19, 1876

[3] : US Federal Census of Population for 1920.

[4] : US Federal Census of Population for 1930.

[5] MCSRD Registered Land Book 510, Page 77, August 12, 1952

[6] : Boston city directory for 1941, 1951, 1960; US Federal Census of Population for 1940; US, Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. “Concetta ‘Connie’ Cincotti,” Boston Globe, December 13, 2003.

[7] MCSRD Registered Land Book 1220, Page 75, April 19, 2000

[8] MCSRD Registered Land Book 1401, Page 76, June 27, 2011. “Ronald C. DeFronzo,” Boston Globe, October 4, 2018.

-----------------------

12/12

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download