Some background on the Historic District proposal

(Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Lincoln Review and is reprinted with permission.)

What if a species of tree appeared to be threatened with disease, let us say, on your property. Should you be worried? How would you assess the situation? What could be done? How would you measure the loss? If we alter the scenario and describe the pending loss as not of trees but as part of Lincoln’s history, architecturally and culturally, we can see the ideas behind a forthcoming town initiative.

At Town Meeting on March 24, the town will be asked to consider an initiative: the addition of 18 Modern houses located throughout town to Lincoln’s existing Historic District, and the creation of a new Historic District with 11 houses in the Modern neighborhood of Brown’s Wood. For several years, the Historic District Commission (HDC) and the Friends of Modern Architecture (FoMA) have been working on this initiative with owners of Modern houses who are voluntarily participating. Its purpose is to help preserve and protect the defining characteristics of Modern buildings, structures, and neighborhoods, and in doing so, to sustain the treasured look and feel of the town. According to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, “the strongest form of protection is a local historic district created through a local bylaw or ordinance.” The Massachusetts Historic District Act provides for the addition of noncontiguous houses to a local district.

A little background: the HDC is an official Lincoln board. It came into being with establishment of Lincoln’s Historic District by vote of the town in 1981. Its members are appointed and have oversight over the Historic District, which currently consists of 73 properties in four areas: Lincoln Center, Woods End, Codman Farm, and Cory-Brown-Hunt on Conant Road.

According to Lincoln’s bylaw, the HDC is “intended to preserve and protect as a permanent legacy the significant historical areas and distinctive architectural characteristics of the town of Lincoln in their settings.” This is achieved through guidelines in the bylaw for buildings and structures within the district. HDC members are responsible for approving requests for permanent exterior alterations above grade and visible from a public way, and new construction and demolitions; and for determining the appropriateness of a requested change in relation to the historical and architectural significance of the building or structure and its site.

The HDC can issue a certificate of nonapplicability for ordinary maintenance and a certificate of hardship in certain instances when refusal of a request would create a hardship for the applicant. Certain alterations and additions, itemized in the bylaw, are excluded from consideration. This bylaw would govern the Modern house being added to the Historic District; the new Brown’s Wood Historic District would have several additional provisions developed in consultation with the members of that district.

FoMA, a local nonprofit organization, was founded in 2005 to promote greater awareness and appreciation of Modernism’s contribution to Lincoln’s architectural and cultural history. FoMA encourages efforts to preserve this legacy for the town and for future generations of homeowners.

Modernism in Lincoln

Modernism refers not to a specific style but an international idea. Dating from and reflective of the post-World War I period, Modern architecture uses mass-produced materials and scientific and engineering innovations in an effort to improve living and working conditions by providing fresh air and light in efficient, affordable designs. Modernism values honesty of structure and purpose expressed through simplicity of form, direct use of materials, open floor plan, large glass windows which foster connection between interior and exterior, and design specific to site.

In Lincoln, Modernism has a long and distinguished history. Lincoln became an important incubator for Modern residential design beginning in the late 1930s. The first Modern residence in town was completed in 1937. During the 1940s and especially post-World War II, Lincoln grew rapidly. The town’s proximity to Cambridge and Boston, and the educational and cultural opportunities those cities offered, attracted a population drawn to and interested in participating in Modern ideas and ideals. Many architects were attracted to Lincoln and found residential commissions. Some architects also joined with local residents to work with innovative town planning, including the development of several Modern house neighborhoods in town.

Woods End Road, the town’s first Modern neighborhood, became part of the town’s Historic District in 1981. Other Modern neighborhoods dating from the 1940s to 1960s include Old Concord Road, Brown’s Wood, Twin Pond Lane, Tabor Hill, Woodcock Lane, Rockwood Lane, Stonehedge Road, and Hiddenwood Path.

Although other towns possess important Modern houses or neighborhoods, Lincoln has an inventory of considerable breadth and influence. From 1937 to 1969, over 300 Modern residences as well as civic, cultural, and commercial buildings were constructed in Lincoln. This collection of Modern houses uniquely includes 14 pre-World War II houses, some of which were designed by architects for their families.

Following World War II, academics and professionals moving into town as well as local residents commissioned Modern houses, and, as before, architects also designed for their own families. The local, nationally and internationally recognized architects who have practiced in Lincoln include J. Quincy Adams, Lawrence Anderson, Walter Bogner, Marcel Breuer, Earl Flansburgh, Walter Gropius, Henry Hoover, Carl Koch, Thomas McNulty, Cyrus Murphy, G. Holmes Perkins, Walter Pierce, Constantin Pertzoff, Frances Quarton, Lucy Rapperport, Mary Otis Stevens, and Hugh Stubbins. Through their academic work and teaching, architectural firms, publications, and extent of commissions, their influence frequently extended well beyond Lincoln.

Certain houses in Lincoln already have a measure of protection, a basis on which the HDC would like to build through this initiative. For instance, the 1937 home of Henry Hoover and the 1963 home of Earl Flansburgh are under the Preservation Easement Program of Historic New England (HNE). In addition, HNE owns the property of Walter Gropius and maintains the residence as a house museum. The Gropius House is also on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as a designated National Historic Landmark, and is within the Woods End area of the Historic District. The residence of Marcel Breuer likewise is within the Woods End area of the Historic District. Three Modern houses are within the Lincoln Center area of the Historic District, and two more Modern houses are protected by a Lincoln Rural Land Foundation conservation easement governing the buildings’ envelope.

The HDC and FoMA believe that more examples of Modern architecture in Lincoln warrant the attention and protection the Town’s Historic District bylaw can provide. They therefore ask for town support of the proposal outlined above, believing it can provide the town and interested homeowners a significant mechanism by which examples of the important architectural and cultural period of Modernism in Lincoln’s history can be protected for the future.

—Andrew C. Glass and Lucretia H. Giese, for the HDC and FoMA