Lawrence Estates Painters — North of Lawrence Road, up to the Fells

By 1900 Samuel C. Lawrence held most of the open hillside north of High Street and west of Powder House Road. Medford's 2010 survey plan concludes from the houses that his heirs developed it in stages between the world wars. Lawrence Road splits the result in two: the Traincroft section to the south winds up the hill, while the area generally called the Lawrence Estates, to the north, has straight, parallel streets laid out on a plateau. Lincoln and Damon roads were carried north to the slope at the southern edge of the Middlesex Fells, and the grid runs west to Winthrop Street.

None of these street names shows up in the 1920 census, and by 1930 many addresses do, which places most of the building in that decade. The survey counts essentially three designs, Colonial, Tudor and Dutch Colonial, all two stories with three-bay fronts and sunrooms on the ends. The way styles alternate along a street suggests many were built before they were sold. Brick veneer was offered on every type and is what sets this section apart.

Census Tract 3391.02, which takes in Lincoln, Ramshead and Whitney roads, counts 1,253 housing units with a median build year of 1938. 60.7% date to 1939 or earlier, 86.6% are detached single-family houses and 91.5% are owner-occupied.

Brick below, wood above

Where a front is brick veneer, the painted surfaces shrink to window casings, sash, cornice, doors and gable ends. Paint that drips or is rolled onto the brick is hard to remove from mortar joints, so masking and cut-in lines matter more than square footage.

Pent roofs and one-story wings

The survey notes that Tudors and Dutch Colonials here use pent roofs or wings to look one story at the ends. That puts a short roof edge between floors, with fascia and trim that sits right where water runs off, and staging has to work around it.

Sunrooms full of sash

A 1920s sunroom is mostly windows: many sash, muntins and sills, inside and out. Glazing putty, sill rot and sticking sashes all need checking during prep, and the sash count, more than the wall area, sets how long the room takes.

A street that reads as a set

Because the subdivision was planned with alternating styles, color choices are seen against neighbors built at the same time and scale. The area is not a local historic district, so no city board reviews color here, and the choice is the owner's.