Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Aoreage of nominated property Guedrangle neme. UMT Roterences Verbel boundery description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: - _ netional -_state Date Mtetoric Preservetton Omcer eigneture date 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to - Signed L Aelves Syen - Date - 4/27/82 Phone: 202 272-3504 Comments for any Item may be continued on an attached sheet HATIONAL DEGISTER OF HISTORIC PLAGES BRALUATION/ NETURN SNEET TOD: Blater Counts feceral Agency: rosubmission nominetion by. person or local government owner objection appeai Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: Enlied States Dopertment cf:- Falionel Parx Service Working No.. Fed. Reg.
Date: Date Due: Action: ACCEPT- LRETURN - REJECT- photos__ maps - -sample _request - appeai -NR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer_. Discipline.. Date _ see continuation sheet Nominatlon returned for: Átechnical corrections cited beiow substantive reasons discussed below Kame = Lacation /- Classification Cotegory Xle Aventetinn 4 Owner of Property Bistus iccosolbie Prosert Uce Pleace fel in, 4 mit spptecndle uade done of 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys has this propsty baon euumminee elrgibie? - yes - ne Description ORssdon _ascafent posd fair Chock eea unaltered dirteniorated -. ruinz unexpowad Check ena .original site - morod este.
tosorite the presoni and eriglial (l Lruwal plysical esposrance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary celection MAY 2 1 1982 Praicoesriekeridbepbify bmaorge summary paragraph completeness ciarily applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance the to resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 80. Geographical Data - Aecrangte rme BEet Aciernocad Serion soumcdy duracription ad fartiflcetion $1. Form Prepared By 12. State Mistoric Preservation Officer Certification- Tie ovanamed sigetiiconce of this property writhin the state is: __netiona! -stave - local pervsitime Crlcer oipmarture Gote 13.
Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to signed diuhrr - Date _ 4/27/22 Phone: 202 272 - 3504 Comments for any Item may be continued on en etlached sheet FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries-complete applicable sections 1. Name For HCRS use only received MAR 3 11982 date entered JUN 2 1982 historic Donald Mckay House and/or common same 2. Location street & number 78-80 White Street city, town Boston (East Boston) NP vicinity of Nf not for publication congressional district Eighth state Massachusettscode 3.
Classification Category Ownership district public A building(s) X private * structure both site Public Acquisition object Ni * in process being considered 025 county Suffolk code 025 Status X occupied unoccupied work in progress Accessible - yes: restricted yes: unrestricted X no Present Use agriculture commercial educational entertainment -government industrial military museum park private residence religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name Mr. & Mrs. Ralph P. Vertuccio street & number 80 White Street city, town East Boston N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts 02128 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Registry of Deeds, Suffolk County Courthouse,Book 8966, Page 360 street & number Pemberton Square city, town Boston state Massachusetts 6.
Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets of the title Commonwealth of Massachusetts has this property been determined elegible?_ - yes X no date December 1977 federal X state county local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission Boston Massachusetts city, town state 7. Description Condition excellent X good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Donald Mckay House, 78-80 White Stu, Fast. Boston Check one _unaltered Check one - original site _X altered _ moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance The Greek Revival style McKay House faces south on White Street in a residential section of East Boston. It is a two-story plus attic, threeby five bay detached frame dwelling. a shingled, ridged roof with the gable end fronting on the street in a manner typical of this style.
The gable has a full entablature with the bold, wide profile also typical of Greek Revival design. On the front facade a central entrance porch with two posts supports a second story balcony (of later date with a plain balustrade. This projects around a center window flanked by side- The lateral windows flanking the entrance on the first floor are wider than those directly above them which are of slightly more elongated proportions. A pair of windows is located in the gable end. All windows on the front and on the east elevation are 2 over 2 double-hung sash as are most of the other windows on the house. Moulded window enframements are all the same on the original portion of the house. The moulding pattern is repeated in the enframement for the center entrance door.
Two vertical members, each resembling a pilaster, are capped by a pronounced lintel showing its design derivation from the frieze and cornice of Greek temples. The enframement design may have been taken from one of the builder's handbooks available in 1844. An architectural handbook may have been the source for the flat-roofed porch which McKay added along the west side of his house. Thirteen columns, allegedly in honor of the thirteen colo- nies, support an entablature composed of a fasciated architrave, a plain frieze and a project- ing, moulded cornice. The columns are square with a recessed panel in each plane. The necking of the capital is embellished with a rosette, presumably in all four planes although these are now only partially visible.
An echinus of an egg-and-dart motif serves as a transitional element between the necking and a plain abacus, moulded at the top, on which rests the archi- trave. The porch has at some time been closed in and windows have been inserted between the columns. Of a later date than the house itself is the two-story Italianate bay with dentilated cornice and flat roof which has been added on the west side of the house beyond the Greek Revival porch. Also of a later date are the two dormer windows in each roof plane and a small addition at the back of the house. There are two chimneys in each original roofplane and one on the bay. The originalclapboarding has been covered with asphalt shingling of contrasting colors. The house is centrally located within the larger portion of the L-shaped lot.
The front lawn slopes down to end in a moderately high granite retaining wall which is built into the angle of Eagle Hill at the front and on both sides. Two openings have been cut in the wall. One, framed at sidewalk level by two granite posts with tapered tops, leads up in steps to the center entrance. From the second, eight steps lead up to a walkway which then angles to the front entrance. A carefully clipped hedge frames the front lawn and the central, stepped walkway. Other shrubbery, as well as large trees to the side and the back of the property, gracefully accommodate the McKay House to its setting. A two-story, wood frame barn of nine- teenth century origin, possibly from Mckay's tenure, is located on the smaller portion of the lot, abutting Brooks Street. 8.
Significance Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 1800-1899 1900- Areas of Significance - Check and justify below - archeology-prehistoric community planning - archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics X - architecture education art X engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications - industry _ invention landscape architecture _ religion law science literature . sculpture military - social/ musIc humanitarian philosophy theater politics/government X transportation - other (specify) Specific dates 1844 Builder/Architect unknown Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The significance of the house at 78-80 White Street lies primarily in its association with Donald Mckay, a nineteenth century shipbuilder who was a major influence on the development of international maritime design and engineering.
Mckay was also the dominant personality con- tributing to the growth of East Boston which was a major factor in the economic prosperity of the City as a whole. His White Street house represents a fine and unusual example of ver- nacular Greek Revival architecture in the East Boston neighbohood of Boston. House meets criteria B and C of the National Register of Historic Places in Thus the McKay that it's associated with the life of a person significant in the past; and it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction. McKay, a Canadian by birth, moved to East Boston in 1843. Then thirty-four years old, McKay had completed his apprenticeship and had joined a shipbuilding partnership in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
Through the auspicies of Enoch Train, a wealthy Boston merchant, McKay opened his own shipyard on Border Street between White and Eutaw Streets. (All vestiges of this yard have been obliterated by later 20th century development.) Until 1850, he designed packet vessels, the dominant sailing ship type preceding the clipper. With the launching of the "Staghound" in 1850, McKay began his career of building clipper ships. In all, thirty clipper ships were designed and built by Mckay in his Border Street shipyard. Most notable was the "Flying Cloud", built in 1851, which isinternationally famous for making the passage from New York to San Francisco, around the tip of South America, in only 89 days. In making this trip, she is reported to have attained the fastest rate of speed ever logged - a record which stood for 23 years, even at a time when mechanically driven ships were being developed.
Throughout the 1850's and into the 1860's, until the California Gold Rush subsided and the in the world. Civil War ended, McKay produced some of the largest, fastest and most beautiful sailing ships Bustling with shipbuilding activity and the industries required to outfit sailing ships, the East Boston waterfront drew skilled craftsmen from all over New England and Canada and offered jobs as well for unskilled laborers. The townscape of East Boston adjusted to accommodate this new population. McKay had his own home built in 1844, before the building boom he helped generate, and lived there with his family until 1877. During his years at White Street, Mckay entertained many famous citizens, including Admiral Farragut, Daniel Webster and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who came to celebrate the launching of new clipper ships.
Donald McKay's house is a good example of vernacular architecture in the Greek Revival style and is significant to local architecture. Its most unusual and distinctive feature is the It is not known whether Mckay designed the porch himself, possibly with the aid of a builder's handbook, or whether he had assistance. Characteristic of the Greek Revival style (1820-1860) is the alignment of the house with the broad gable end facing the street. Also typical are the proportions of the house, the symmetrical disposition of doors and windows, and the decorative mouldings. 9. Major Bibliographical References Clark, Eugene S., Jr., Proceedings, July, 1936, "Donald MCK013-1030. Master Shipbuilder," U.S. Naval Institute Judson, C.I., Donald Mckay, Designer of Clipper Ships McKay, Richard C., Some Famous Sailing Ships and Their Builder Donald Mckay, Riverside. Connecticut: 7C's Press, Inc., 1969.
10. Geographical Data ACREAGE, NUT Acreage of nominated property 12,400 sq. ft. - less than one acre UIM NO Quadrangle name Boston North, Mass. Quadrangle scale 1:24,000E UMT References 19 Zone cLI EL1 GLL 1334399 Easting 46P3BA0I Northing DLI FLIJ Easting Lu LuJ LuLu Luli Norlnd LL1 Northing LLILLL LlILu Verbal boundary description and justification Please refer to the attached map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state code county N A code state code county code 11. Form Prepared By name/title by Judith McDonough Boston Landmarks Commission organization Candace Jenkins, Registration Director Massachusetts Historical Commission date March 1981 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town Boston state Massachusetts 12.
State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state local As thedesignated State Historic Preservation Officerfor the NationalHistoricPreservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.
Patuuu LWeslonsKi State Historic Preservation Officer signature Executive Director title Massachusetts Historical Commission For HCRS use only hereby certify that this property is included in the National Registe Intered in the lace yur National Register Keeper of the National Register date 3/18/82 date 6/2/82 Attest: Chief of Registration date GPO 938 835 *t 55 2187 S 2187 625 2410 2625 2625 2625 2625 2625 1112 262508 106 2625 104 26258 2625g 26258) 237 2362 2362 2362 82362 ] º2362 .2362 2362 2362 E 2362 8 2362 2362 2362 (82362 8 2362 220,875 DONALD MCKAY HOUSE 78-80 White Street Boston (East Boston), MA.
Scale: 1"=100' N UTM References: 19 332280 4693810 2187 2187 90 2188 2188 188 223 22182 2770 R 012 75 28 5 69 FALCON -2362 (932362] 6 2362 * 2625 8 2494 6223/ BROOKS 2503 812430 77 2430 2430 2430 2430 ° 2430 2166 2209 2188 2187 2187 2187 2112 E 66 88 WEST EAGLE STREET 75 3062 77 6250 8I 23/2 2438 2250 2138 3250 7500 76 * STREET 12,400 80 500 WHITE 89 TAS 63 79 F1171 13.22 1196 1515 12.69 120 10 280 116 1625 STREET 61 5509 59 57 982 55 53 2242 1701 1650 V600 1760 1193191 BROOKS 1192 1190 950 950 10 3150 1925 108 STREET MONMOUTH 50 2 1250 98 1250 °,2 1875 61 3750 1815 2500 2500 2500 3500 2500 2500 2500 15° 2700 2500 1900 2500 2500 1226 3100 2500 2000 2500 2000 2500 2000 2000 2500 2000 2500 2000 2000L 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000L 2000 2000[ PIT 115 -2500 2500 1975 11900 2500 11900 2500 1900 1109 103 1328 2500 1900 36T2 2500 11 11 1529 150 146 140 130 134| 136 132 130 2300g 1122 1087 10873 TOETE 1345100 150 85 2500 2500 2500 EUTAW TOBT 168 A6G 1625 825 1625 1875 1800 1625 1875 2 2500 2500 2500 2500 2500 ^ 2500 2500 |2500 250 2700 2500 104 2500 g) 13 hK2300 CHAP: TAS E2666 139 BOT: 15332 129131 133 2500 250 2739 2265 2500 PiS 2500 2500 Tsi 2500 2250 E/87 109 itn .....
.. . . .. EVALUATION / RETURN SHEET Property: Donald State, County: MckaymA, suffalk House Federal Agency: resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: - sample Reviewer's comments: Natlonal Park Service Working No.- Fed. Reg. Date: Date Due:_ Action: 731-82-1055 7/5/52 - ACCEPT_6/- 2/82 - RETURN Entered In the - REJECT. Nationahörestter maps - request - appeal -NR decision Recom. / Criteria Reviewer_ Discipline Date - see continuation sheet -Nomination returned for: - technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Cologory Ormorship Public Acqutsition 4. Owner of Property Matus Aecosslbte Prosont Use 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys has thie property beon determined eligtbte? - 700 - o 7.
Description Condition _ axcelient - good _ fair _ detorioraied Chock one -unattered - aitered Check one - original site moved date _ unexposed Docortie the prosent and eriginad (M knowm) petrytieced supprgen summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8. Significance Poes of 9 Bates piñleen summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Aoreage of nominated property Quedrengle neme - UMT References erbel beundary deecriptien and jostificatler 11. Form Prepared By 12.
State Historic Preservation Officer Certification Tie evetusted significance of this property wdthin the state ie: _ national ptati e Heetortc Preservatton Officer aignarure 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to. Signed.
Date_ Phone: 202 272 - 3504 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Donald Mckay House 78-80 White Street Boston (East Boston) Suffolk County, Massachusetts Photo Credit: Boston Landmarks Commission Negative Filed: Boston Landmarks Commission Date: January 1977 Identification: West & south elevations, from White Street 10F3 Donald McKay House 78-80 White Street Boston (East Boston) Suffolk County, Massachusetts Photo credit: Boston Landmarks Commission Negative filed: Boston Landmarks Commission Date: January 1977 Identification: West & south elevations, from White Street 20F3 Donald McKay House 78-80 White Street Boston (East Boston) Suffolk County', Massachusetts Photo credit: Boston Landmarks Commission Negative filed: Boston Landmarks Commission Date: January 1977 Identification: South elevation, from White Street 30F3 RECLIVED FcB 01 1982 MASS. HIST. COMM.
16 Hickory Lane Darien, Connecticut 06820 January 22, 1982 Re: Rea-Proctor Homestead Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts Ms. Wendy Frontiero Preservation Planner Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Dear Ms. Frontiero, This letter confirms that I am presently an owner, as tenant-in-common, of the Rea-Proctor Homestead and 1.43 acres of land, more or less, situated at 180 Conant Street, Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts. I consent to the application for listing and nomination of this property to the National Register of Historic Places. Sincerely, Sihn a Janyer Cc: Elizabeth J. Harris 16641 Marquez Terrace Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 DANVERS ARCHIVAL CENTER 43 BAGE"STREEF DANVERS, MASS. 01923 RICHARD B. TRASK TOWN ARCHIVIST TELEPHONE 617-777-2821 February 12, 1982 RECEIVED Ms. Patricia L.
Weslowski State Historic Preservation Officer Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, MA 02108 FEB 171982 MASS. HIST. COMM. Dear Pat: Danvers Town Manager, Wayne Marquis, has requested me to reply to you con- cerning the nomination for the Rea-Proctor Household at 180 Conant Street to the National Register. The town is very pleased to lend its support to the nomination for this historic property. Last year the Archival Center with the aid of the Danvers Historical Lend er wsuptre a0d Commission surveyed some 300 town structures including this building (Danvers form-321), and determined that it merited National Register consideration. The owners of the property have utilized our resources at the Archival Center, and I am of the opinion that the property merits registration under the criteria for evaluation.
Please let us know if we can be of further aid in this regard. Yours truly, SV-1 Richard B. Trask Town Archivist RT:dmg cc. Wayne Marquis Historical Survey Associates, Inc. 16641 MARQUEZ TERRACE PACIFIC PALISADES, CA. 90272 TEL. (213) 454-7895 Patricia L. Weslowski Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 54 LIME STREET NEWBURYPORT, MASS. 01950 RECEIVED March 2, 1982 MAR - Ü 1982 MASS. HIST. COMMA Re: The Rea-Proctor Homestead (Danvers, Essex Co., Mass. ) Dear Ms. Weslowski: I am pleased that the Massachusetts Historical Commission will be considering the nomination of the Rea-Proctor Homestead to the National Register of Historic Places. My uncle, John A. Sawyer, and I are co-owners of this property, and fully support this nomination.
We hope it may afford protection, and facilitate investments to preserve and restore this 17th century property. We look forward to a favorable consideration of the Rea-Proctor Homestead, and thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, Elimbetk 7. Harnb Elizabeth J. Harris 16641 Marquez Terrace Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 cc: Miss Wendy Frontiero, Preservation Planner, Mass. Historical Commission Mr. John A. Sawyer, 16 Hickory Lane, Darien, Conn. 06820 Mr. Richard B. Trask, Danvers Historical Commission, 13 Page St.,Danvers
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