Historical Commission drops 57 Harding from inventory

Historical Commission · Meeting of October 21, 2026

Lexington's Historical Commission voted unanimously, "with regret," to drop 57 Harding Road from the town's historic inventory. The commission also imposed a fresh 21-month demolition delay on 3 Franklin Road after an ownership transfer to Addison Merriam Holdings LLC, with attorney Frederick Gilgon arguing unsuccessfully that no new delay should apply. Commissioners approved a $20,000 Community Preservation Act request to conserve four early-1900s tax collector books and voted 4-0 to advance 9 Hillside Terrace toward a November hearing on historic-inventory status, after resident Jerry Frank documented the 1925 house's history.

A dispute over removing gallery windows at 130 Waltham Street, home to the Lexington Arts and Crafts Association, was continued to November after commissioners Marilyn and Susan objected, citing the building's historic and architectural significance. Commissioner Susan separately raised concerns that Lexington attaches no preservation restrictions to CPA grants, citing more than $7 million given to the Monroe Center for the Arts.

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Source: the Historical Commission meeting of October 21, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.