AgdaPkt 2016-09-12 Closed and Joint SA PFA

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Alpha Reference: V Historic Name: Foresters of America Lodge Hall Address: 1204 Middlefield Road Construction Date: 1913 Parcel #: 053-142-080 This two-story Neo-classical block houses a fraternal organization and is located in an area of low-rise commercial structures. The building composes a unified rectangular mass, and its fenestration is even and symmetrical. It looks to have a fireproof steel or reinforced concrete frame, which has been expressed in the projecting piers and crossbeams outlining the facade. The exterior has a rough uneven texture suggesting that the builder might have sprayed on its concrete finish. The roof is flat and is lined with a parapet. Seen from Middlefield Road, the front facade is divided into three portions. Most prominent is a slightly projecting central bay. On the first floor, flanking the paired doors of the main entrance, are two Tuscan columns raised on plinths. The columns support an entablature decorated with triglyphs and mutules. The entablature also has a projecting cornice. On the second floor are two pairs of florid Ionic columns on plinths, which flank a pair of doors. Above the doors are a transom window and a fanlight. Tuscan pilasters trim this arched opening. As on the first floor, the ionic columns support an elaborate entablature with its triglyphs and pronounced cornice. A dentil band runs the length of the entablature. Above the second story in the center along the parapet, is a symmetrical collection of forms crowned by a triangular pediment. On either side of this central bay is a symmetrical array of double-hung windows. Each of these windows has a hood held in place by carved brackets. One window on the first floor to the right has double-hung sash with twelve-lights. The corresponding window on the left is blind. On the second, are larger twenty light windows also with double-hung sash. These windows also display five-light transoms. Seen from Maple Street, the northwest facade is articulated by its structural framing elements into three parts. A triangular pediment crowns the central part. Six, metal, fixed-sash windows of identical size line both floors. These windows appear to have replaced earlier wood-sash models. An additional three-light window to the left breaks the symmetry of the first floor's fenestration. The Foresters of America built their lodge at 1204 Middlefield Road in the new, fashionable, Neo-classical style used for important public and commercial buildings across the United States. Its dignified styling lent stature to the proceedings of this fraternal organization. The lodge has a number of correct classical details and is a nice example of the style for a building of its size and context. (Few other Neo-classical commercial or institutional buildings survive in the neighborhood.) Its condition appears sound and original. This may be an early example of steel frame or reinforced concrete construction in Redwood Page 58 7.B. - Page 69