AREA FORM NO. 500 FORM B - BUILDING ASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 294 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02108 Lexington 1 Cess 50 Percy Road toric Name Wildacre Inn Albin Rufus Reed House Present psychiatric halfway house Original inn ^ESCRIPTION: .e 1902 Source Worthen, p. 101 SKETCH MAP Show property's location in relation to nearest cross streets and/or geographical features. Indicate all buildings between inventoried property and nearest intersection. Style Architect Edward Goodwin Reed Exterior wall fabric asbestos shingles Indicate north . Outbuildings Q^ O Major alterations (with dates) addition to rear (date unknown) Moved Date Approx. acreage 19950 ft.2 Recorded by Setting On the southwest slope of Munroe Anne Grady Organization Lexington Historical Co mm issi on Date Hill; a wooded site above the wetlands to the west March, 1984 (Staple additional sheets here) S features SIGNIFICANCE(Describe important architectural ARCHITECTURAL evaluate in terms of other buildings within the conunnity.) and w i ndow l i ghti nq ori el desi gn w j -th rectangul ar A hous e o f s i m p l e e x te ri o r chi ef 1- he s t air c as e a n d d o o rw a y w i th p l ai n bracketed hood, the bui l di ng' s w hi ch bui l di ngs el ements from w el l -know n i n th e a rc h i te c tu ra l int er es t lie s the fol l ow i ng. fi ni shes. These i ncl ude i n to th e i n te ri or wer e inc or po ra te d l . F ro m th e o 1 d Sp ri n g f i el d headquarters: the wood panelling, Tavern w here W ashi ngton had hi s the window trim and the rosettes (see C onti nuati on HISTORICAL SIG{IFICAI$CE (Explain history and how the building S h eet ) the role owners played in 1ocal or state relates to the development of the corumslity.) tn I9O2 for Albj:r Rufus Reed., a vocal musj-c teacher in The house was built 4J Percy Road. since 1894. Reed.'s son, Edward. G. Reed., aL who had resid-ed Boston (b. IB%) recently yor.rng age. Edward.'s sister remarkably house at a designed the and. construction: of its d,esi-gn circumstances communicated the When Edr*ard- lras young, he spent his free hours at a desk d-esi-gning Wi-fdacre' houses and house p1ans. At age L4 he designed the original was planned around years of collecting' The beauty of the interior Albin Rufus Reed, bought the woodwork of old Boston homes Our father, when they were torn d.own by wreckers to make room for new build.ings. /Fx^ heussy' was written " 3p in Boston_sunday papers in the magazine -L ^"" section at least Lwtce 1c. L9rc-I9L5/ . Edward Reed- grad.uated from Harvard, in 1908 with a degree in archi-tecture, ha.ving alreadv designed- another house in Lexington by that date (1 Bennington to accept a schol-arship to the Ecole He turned. down a Rhod.es scholarship Road). Upon return to Boston he was enployed- by Charles Grecot d-esBeaux Arts i-n Paris. After for Greco, architect, He later went to Clevel-and. to open a branch office in Cl-evelartd and. renained. in serving in Worfd War I, Reed- opened hi-s own office World- War II. he practiced. in Santa Maria, Cal-ipractice Thereafter there until Build.ings he d.esigned. include mariy homes in the C1eveland area; the Harforrnia, vey Firestone house in Alcon; the house for George Humphreyl Secretary of the ( see Continuation Sheet) arithor, date and publisher) BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES(narne of publication, (spNEA) correspondence society for the Preservation of liew England Antiquities file. Edwin IrJorthen. Lexington, Twitchell-, I Benjamin, qn ,i A Calendat B. Ua Ht"toty of f.e*itgto - to Marcia Dane, l\ay 9, L984. Boston; Published. by the Author of Arehitecture. Rosamond.Reed, Letter Asher, The Fractice fl rr *or L}l,t - 7/82 TNVENTORYFORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town LExrucroN HtsrorucalCovHatssloN MassacuusETTs Butt-olNc ARcHrvBs MassacrrusETTs 220MonRrssEYBour-Bvanp 02125 BosroN,MRSSacHUSETTS PropertyAddress 50PencvRoan Area(s) Form No. 500 HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Severalarticlesappearingin the LexingtonMinute-Man in the early 1900soffer additionalinformation on the properfy and its owners. The following article entitled "A Modest but Artistic Home" was publishedon August 16, 1902. One is hardly preparedby the extremesimplicity and even severityof the exterior of the house,for the artistic and picturesque,as well as convenientand roomy, interior of the new home which hasj ust beenfinished for the occupancyof Mr. Albin R. Reed's family, off the extensionof Highland avenue,on Munroe Hill, Lexington. It is a rather remarkablehousein severalrespects,not the leastbeing the fact that the architectwas Mr. Reed'sson, Edward Goodwin by name,a lad of sixteenyearsand a pupil in Lexington High school. The boy has a natural aptitudefor architecturaldesignand gainedhis first experiencein remodelingthe home of his grandmother,the late Mrs. Chas.E. Goodwin (formerly of Arlington) at Kennebunkport,which the family and buildersdeemeda great success. There are always limitations in building and consideringtheseand the other difficulties which naturally follow, young Reed has put up a housewhich would be a credit to a maturedman experiencedin the profession. All the money and tasteat his commandwas expendedon the interior, which is exceptionallyartistic,the latter fact owing largely to the auxiliary assistancegiven by the boy's father,Mr. Reed,who besidesbeing a musicianof high standingin Boston,also hasa tastefor the artistic and a fad for collectingvaluableantiquitiesin the line of furnishings. household One entersthe houseinto a squarehall, not large,but with a nicely proportionedstairway. Just out of the hall is a receptionroom with a Frenchwindow. Turning to the left is the living room, beautifully propottioned,(28 x 16 feet), and paneledas high as the chair rail. The windows are squarein shapeand look out on a beautiful and extensivewoodland view. A striking featureof this room is a very beautiful mantel of unusualwidth, in a charmingproportionedcolonialdesign.A similarmantelis in the dining room but much smaller.Out of the dining room, is a nice china closetand other convenientquaftersfor domesticpurposes.The chambersare of good size, light and airy, and splendidclosetroom has beenprovided for all over the house. But the charm of the houseis the woodwork on the first floor, much of which was culled by Mr. Reed,Sr., from old houseswhich, with the unusualnumberof antiquepiecesof furniture,someof which areheirloomsof Mrs. Reed,whose family has for many yearsbeen identifiedwith Arlington and where the homesteadthere on Pleasantstreetis now occupiedby her uncle,Mr. Geo. W. Lane. Othershave beencollectedfrom time to time by Mr. Reed. The woodwork including the panelingin the receptionroom camefrom a room in the famousDaggett housewas plannedin revolutionarydays. Somein Boston,where the "tea party" episodeof the other paneling was taken from the old SpringfieldTavem, now torn down, where Washingtonmadeone of his memorable sojourns. The mantelsand mahoganychair rails were from the well known Parkmanhouseof tragic fame in Bowdoin Sq., Boston,of which Bulfinch, the famousarchitectwho built the StateHouseand other fine edifices, was the designer.The carvedlintelsover the doorsin the hall, reception,dining and living rooms,is exceptionallyornateand beautiful in design,being patternedsomewhatafterthe Egyptianforms and was taken, we understand,from the Ronaldshouseon BeaconHill. Of coursesuchfeaturesas thesegive the housea value way beyondany money estimateand makesit almost a museumand epitomeof colonial days. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town LExmcroN Htsrozucal CovtuISSIoN Mas sacrrusETTS ARcnIves Burr.nrNc Mas sacHUSETTS Bout-BvaRt 220 MonRISSEY BosroN, MassacnusETTs02125 PropertyAddress 50PBncvRoan Area(s) Form No. s00 HISTOzuCAL SIGNIFICANCE: Albin Rufus Reed died on December24, 1904 andafter his deathMrs. Reedexpandedthe houseand turned it into a boardinghouse. On August 5, 1905,the LexingtonMinute-man includeda detaileddescriptionof the addition and offered insight into the boardinghouseclientele. "Wildacre", the home of Mrs. A. R. Reed,in the Munroe Hill district, Lexington, has beendevelopedinto a roomy and picturesqueboardinghousewhere Mrs. Reedcan accommodatea goodly family, who find in her home an atmospherethat has a charm quite original and not usually associatedwith the old acceptationof the word "boarding house". An addition recentlyaddedto Wildacre affords a seriesof good sizedroomsthat have a beautiful outlook over the intervalesouthand west to the hills beyond,giving the placethe charmof remoteness and country life in the midst of all the conveniencesand comfortsof modern living. Another new featureof the houseis a spaciousdining room which, with the other featuresof the house,have beenartistically designedby Mrs. Reed's son, Mr. Edward G., a young man in LawrenceScientific School. The wood work is green,put on the walls to give a paneledwainscoteffect againsta backgroundof naturalburlaps. The upper sectionof the walls abovethe plate shelf is paperedwith a forest paperin a tapestryeffect. Somerare old piecesof mahogany furniture and blue china accentthe other featuresof the room. The broad piazzasare a popularresortfor guests thesesummerdays,and a more charmingoutlook could not be found. It has beenvery aptly comparedwith the Berkshires,with its thickly woodedforestry and wide expanseof undulatingcountry which composesitself into innumerablepictures. Among thoseat presentstayingat Wildacre are Miss CarolineRimmer, Mrs. Durham and Miss Durham, of Belmont; Miss Rogers,Mr. and Mrs. Hardy G. Gamett,Mrs. Smithwick and children,of Boston;Mrs. L.R. Pillsbury, of Somerville;Miss Haydenof Long Island;Mr. Page,of Brookline. Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Lloyd Garrisonand Miss Agnes Garrison,who have beentaking their mealsat Wildacre sincetheir return from Osterville,have now goneto Brookline, Me., for August. Mrs. Reed,who has shown no little couragein moulding her affairs to meet life's vicissitudes,was Miss Anna Goodwin of Arlington, whose family was a prominentone in that town and widely known both on her father's and mother's side. Directoriesindicatethat Annie Reedcontinuedto operatethe Wildacre Inn until about 1922when shemovedto California. Her son,Edward,was also in residenceand maintainedan architecturalpracticeat 8 BeaconStreetin Boston. By 1924GeorgeMcAlpine was the owner of the properfyand proprietorof the inn. Mrs. Daisy McAlpine was still living here in 1942. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lexington Directories,various dates. LexingtonMinute-Man, August 16,1902; August 5, 1905. Middlesex County Registerof Deeds,Cambridge,Mass. Supplementpreparedby: Lisa Mausolf April2009