Gay Head / Aquinnah Town Center Historic District
| Gay Head / Aquinnah Town Center Historic District | |||
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| National Register of Historic Places | |||
| Historic District | |||
 The Baptist Church in the district |
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| location | Aquinnah , Massachusetts , United States | ||
| Coordinates | 41 ° 20 '31 " N , 70 ° 48' 50" W | ||
| surface | 7 Acres (2.8 ha ) | ||
| architect | Herbert C. Hancock, Lester J. Millman | ||
| Architectural style | Greek Revival , Bungalow , Arts and Crafts | ||
| NRHP number | [1] 99000187 | ||
| Data | |||
| The NRHP added | February 26, 1999 | ||
| Declared as HD | February 26, 1999 | ||
The Gay Head / Aquinnah Town Center Historic District is an approximately 7 acres (2.8 ha ) historic district in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard in the state of Massachusetts in the United States . It was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and contains six buildings and two monuments as so-called contributing properties .
Description of the district
The area registered as the Historic District extends almost in a T-shape along South Road or Church Street and is located roughly in the geographical center of the city of Aquinnah (until 1997 Gay Head) at the western end of Martha's Vineyard. The city is the smallest of the six parishes on the island. The district has six buildings and two World War I monuments , while two other, much younger buildings have been registered as noncontributing properties .
The district represents the efforts in the areas of religion and education in what was then the Gay Head in the mid-19th century. The buildings are similar in terms of size, construction materials and design. They are one to one and a half stories tall, made of wood, and feature features of the Greek Revival and Arts and Crafts architectural styles .
Contributing Properties
Community center
The community center ( English Gay Head Town Hall / Community Center ), built in 1929 in the style of arts and crafts, is located on South Road and is a rectangular, one-story building. It stands on a concrete foundation and is clad with wooden shingles. The rafters protrude from under the gable roof , the entrance on the south side has a vestibule , and the wooden sliding windows are divided into two by six individually framed glasses. It is visually connected to the city administration office building to the east by footpaths, a wooden pergola and driveways.
At the northern end of the west side there is a one-story extension with a gable roof, which also stands on a concrete foundation. On the outside of its north wall is a brick fireplace. Another, lower extension was added on the west side in the middle of the 20th century. On the north or rear of the building there is a third, also one-story extension with a pent roof . Another one-story extension was added at the north end of the east side of the building, which now houses the local police station .
School / library
At the intersection between South Road and Church Street is the Greek Revival- style Gay Head School, which has also housed the local public library since 1975 . The building was erected in 1844 and moved to its current location in 1878. It is one story, has a gable roof and rests on a granite foundation . The school remains the only one in Gay Head to this day and is a typical example of teaching all ages in just one room that was common across the state in the mid-19th century.
The former main entrance, which is no longer in use, is located on the north side of the building and has a vestibule with a hipped roof that leads up concrete steps to the wooden doors. A second entrance is on the south side and is accessible via concrete steps. The outside of the building is clad with wooden shingles, while the roof is covered with asphalt . Inside, the school consists of a larger main room, a small adjoining room that was formerly used as a washroom and is now used as a computer room, and the entrance area.
Former Post office building
The former post office building, built in the 1920s, stands on South Road, but is set back 30 ft (9.1 m ) from it. It is one-story, almost square in plan and has a monopitch roof . The building was set on a wooden foundation and clad with wooden shingles on three sides, while the back is clad with wooden boards.
Baptist Church
A little off Church Street is the Gay Head Community Baptist Church, built in 1850 and moved to its current location in 1907. The rectangular one and a half story high Baptist Church is the only remaining church structure in Gay Head. It was built from wood on a granite foundation in the style of the Greek Revival and modified in the middle of the 20th century. The originally square bell tower on the south side of the building was destroyed in a storm and replaced in the 20th century. The main entrance is in the bell tower and consists of a simple wooden door.
Outhouse
To the north-east of the church is a one-story outhouse clad with vertical wooden planks , which is no longer used today and is partly overgrown by bushes and trees. In 1998 modern sanitary facilities were installed in the church .
Rectory
The rectory, built in 1856 and moved to its current location in 1907, is on Church Street. It was built of wood on a stone foundation, is one and a half stories high, in the style of the Greek Revival and clad on the outside with wooden shingles, while the roof is covered with asphalt shingles. The main entrance is on the east side of the building. A one-story extension was added on the rear south side.
Monuments
At the front of the community center there are two monuments that have also been registered in the NRHP. Donated by Governor Samuel W. McCall and The Boston Post , the western monument is a 3 ft (0.9 m) high stone with a bronze plaque dated April 6, 1918. It is in recognition of the fact that the city of Gay Head had the most men in the service of the US Army and Navy, relative to its population, compared to any other town in the state of Massachusetts. The eastern memorial is designed analogously and commemorates 23 named men from Gay Head who served in the First World War .
Noncontributing Properties
To the east of the community center there are two buildings with an office building for the city administration and the fire station as so-called noncontributing properties - i.e. not rated as contributing to the relevance of the district. The office building, which stands on a concrete foundation, is single-story, clad with wooden shingles and has a gable roof. It was designed to take on the look of the community center. On the west side there are two entrances, each with a vestibule. The fire station was also built in the style of the community center.
See also
literature
- Harrington, Mary Kate; Palus, Emily L .; Adams, Virginia H .: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. ( PDF ) National Park Service , December 1998, accessed on April 27, 2015 (English, accessible via the "NR" button).
Individual evidence
- ^ National Register Information System . In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service . Retrieved April 15, 2008.
- ↑ cf. Harrington et al., P. 5.
- ↑ a b cf. Harrington et al., Pp. 5 f.
- ↑ a b cf. Harrington et al., Pp. 7 f.
- ↑ cf. Harrington et al., P. 7.
- ↑ a b cf. Harrington et al., P. 8.
- ↑ cf. Harrington et al., P. 9.
- ↑ cf. Harrington et al., Pp. 6 f.
- ↑ cf. Harrington et al., P. 6.