574 Central Street

• Historic Name: Hocum Hosford House
• Uses: Residential
• Date of Construction: Circa 1856
• Style/Form: Italianate
• Architect/Builder: Unknown
• Foundation: Granite
• Wall/Trim: Wood frame
• Roof: Flat
• Major Alterations: Vinyl siding before 1980 removed some original trim; deck added on north elevation rear.
• Condition: Good
• Included in Hengen survey? Yes
• Related oral interview? No
• Portuguese owned? Yes
• Recorded by: Gregory Gray Fitzsimons and Marie Frank
• Organization: UMass Lowell
• Date: July 2023

Description

An impressive Italianate residence of two stories with a central entrance flanked by bow windows. The second story has a bow window that extends over the main entrance. The north elevation has bow windows at the rear on both stories. The roof is flat with bracket eaves and a raised pediment at center has a small circular window. The roof had four substantial chimneys placed symmetrically on the north and south elevations (only one remains). A low cast iron fence—portions original--separates the home from the street. Originally clapboarded, the application of vinyl siding removed or covered quoins at the corners and some of the trim around the door. The house originally sat on a large open lot that extended over to and down Ames Street. The 1879 atlas includes a separate wood frame structure at the back of the house—possibly a carriage house. The house has been divided into four units.

History

This residence is an important testament to the character of Back Central in the mid-19th century. It was built for Hocum Hosford (1825-81) at the inception of his successful career as a merchant and politician. In 1850 he partnered with A.J. Pollard to start H. Hosford and Co., a dry goods store that soon outstripped the competition (Pollard also built a fine mansion in Back Central.) Hosford soon branched into other industries—in 1869 he founded the Lowell Hosiery Co. At the same time, he became an avid civic leader. He embraced the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln and served as mayor in 1862-4; he remained an active member of the school committee for years (in his last year as mayor he instituted the position of superintendent of schools). He was also a mason and had a hand in the construction of the Masonic Temple in Lowell in 1871.

The house was built on an open, sizable lot--the 1850 plan of Lowell suggests the pre-construction site and the 1879 atlas indicates the footprint of the building by that time—with sizable extensions off the rear. Also notable by 1879, the adjacent square has been named for Hosford. This “square,” created by the bend of Central Street back towards Gorham and the intersection with Mill, is one of the oldest urban squares in Lowell—it first appears on the map of 1825. Hosford’s heirs continued to own the house into the 20th century, greatly expanding the free-standing structure at the rear. However, the next owner, Nazar Mousheghian (also spelled Mousekian) sold it to John Tamassauskas and Benjamin Andruisaitis (also spelled Andrews) in 1925; these owners divided the lot and added additional structures along Ames Street; this included a brick building at 10 Ames operated by Tamassauskas and Andruisaitis as the Boston Baking Company. The Tamassauskas/Andruisaitis family lived in the house through 1966 when they sold it and the business to baker Alvard Gouveia (who had run a small pastry shop at 733 Central Street). Gouveia soon sold it to Manuel Pacheco (a real estate operator) in 1971, who in turn sold it to Manuel Lobao in 1975. The house remained with the Lobao heirs until 2015 when they sold it to Sandip Agarwal of Arlington VA, in 2015.

Sources

• Sources and Additional Photographs:
• Plan of Land and Buildings Belonging to the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, 1825.
• Beard and Hoar, Map of Lowell, 1841.
• Sidney and Neff Map of Lowell, 1850.
• Lowell atlases, 1879, 1882, 1906, 1924 & 1936.
• Lowell city directories.
• Elizabeth Hengen, Lowell Cultural Resources Survey.
• The bakery on 10 Ames Street: (574 can be seen on upper left)