37 Kensington 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-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 FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [37 KENSINGTON AVENUE]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY 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 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 FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [37 KENSINGTON AVENUE]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY 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.