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46 Harrison Avenue Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. FORM B − BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY 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-225 Easthampton NTH.537 Town: Northampton Place: (neighborhood or village) Address: 46 Harrison Avenue Historic Name: Frederick A. Farrar House Uses: Present: Single-family residence Original: Single-family residence Date of Construction: 1922-1930 Source: Directories Style/Form: Colonial Revival Architect/Builder: Karl S. Putnam architect, Northampton Exterior Material: Foundation: not visible Wall/Trim: clapboards Roof: slate Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Major Alterations (with dates): Condition: good Moved: no | x | yes | | Date Acreage: 0.217 acres Setting: This is a west-facing house on a tree- shaded residential street. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [46 HARRISON AVENUE] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 1 NTH.537 _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 Farrar House like its Putnam-designed neighbor at 42 Harrison Avenue aims to reproduce as closely as possible rather than to interpret an early 18th century house, in this case a First Period House. It has a center chimney and faux jetties on all facades in addition to a rear roof that extends to first story level for a saltbox profile. Like its early antecedent the Farrar House was sided in clapboards that became narrower closer to the ground to protect the clapboards from deterioration due to moisture, as foundations were consistently low during the First Period as they are here in Putnam’s version. The house is four bays wide, has an off-center chimney and its entry is an enclosed portico with a Georgian surround that is pedimented. While many houses on Harrison Avenue are Colonial Revival in style, they have the enlarged proportions of the late-19th century, while these two houses are small in scale. 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: “This is one of two adjacent houses on Harrison Avenue constructed from the designs of Karl Putam. Mr. Putnam was a prominent, local architect of the first half of the 20th century, who began his career in the New York offices of Edward Tilton. About 1910, he returned to Northampton, and joined his father, Roswell F. Putnam, in his practice. After the elder Putnam’s death, Karl continued the practice alone. Like his father, he was interested in Colonial architecture and an interesting contrast is provided by comparing Roswell Putnam’s Colonial Revival designs of the turn of the century (at least two of which are also on Harrison Avenue) with Karl Putnam’s Colonial Revival designs of the 1920’s and 1930’s. This house was built for Frederick Farrar, an investment counselor.” 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 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. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [46 HARRISON AVENUE] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 NTH.537 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.