Address: 139-143 North Main Street
Contemporary Building Name: 139-143 North Main Street
Historic Building Name:
Present Use: Residential
Historic Use: Residential
Architectural style: Queen Anne
Date constructed: c. 1885 (Baber)
Description: The large house is L-shaped, with a strong front cross gable in the main block presenting a prominent feature. The two-story wing that completes the L shape is set back to the south, with a porch in the angle of the L. The central entrance of the main block is protected by an elaborate front porch which is approached by broad wooden steps. Paired posts of reverse taper rise from a picket railing to jog-sawn brackets which support the spindle frieze of the porch's shed rood. The shed roof is interrupted by a cross gable in the form of a pediment whose tympanum is covered with imbricated shingles. The front door is set in boldly molded casing under a blocky head piece with circular pattern. The upper half of the door is glazed with a large pane surrounded by a border of 16 small panes of colored glass. Paired 2-over-2 windows flank the porch at both first and second floors. Abutting the second-floor window lintels a broad band of narrow vertical boards makes a fascia or false cornice which connects the ends of the raking eaves of the gable above. The raking eaves project, and are covered with elaborate bargeboards displaying a raised pattern of small parallel panels. The gable end is covered with imbricated shingles, repeating the treatment of the porch gable end, and is the location of a single window. The end (side) gables of the main roof repeat the elaborate details of the front gable. The shed-roofed front porch of the wing has been enclosed and has been extended forward with a glazed bay. There is a second front door at the north end of the bay, close to the main block. The south gable end of the wing repeats the gable ends of the main block. A further shed-roofed wing/ell continues from the rear (southwest) corner of the wing. No chimney is visible. The owner, who has lived in the house since 1952, reports that the present mid-19th century structure envelopes a Colonial saltbox. Mortise-and-tenon joins are visible in the basement. The interior was altered in 1952 at which time fireplaces were eliminated. The wooden mantels are stored in the basement. More recently, the interior has been remodeled into three apartments.
Significance: 139-143 North Main Street is an excellent example of the Queen Anne style, in a good state of preservation. The house incorporates many characteristic Queen Anne features, including asymmetrical plan, a variety of wall materials and textures, intricate details such as the posts in reverse taper, imbricated shingles, and paneled bargeboards. The house is unusual, perhaps unique, in Marlborough.
Sources: Baber, David. Capitol Region Council of Governments Historic Resource Survey of Marlborough, 1978.
Ransom, David. Historical and Architectural Resources Survey, Town of Marlborough, Connecticut. April 1998.
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