Holmes House

Constructed: 1949

Architects: Unknown

The Holmes House is a single family residence with a dated construction of 1949. The structure represents the “American Small House” typology popular from the 1930s to 1950s for its economical design and adaptability for tract development. The compact multi-room house is rectangular in plan and has a steeply pitched end-gable roof indicative of the Cape Cod house style. The wood frame structure is constructed over an unfinished basement. At the east is a gable roof garage and vestibule which appear to be an addition. The structure is located on a dead-end road in a residential district at the north boundary of the central campus.

The exterior of the house and garage are finished with painted wood shingles. A single brick chimney is located near the center of the roof ridgeline. At the time of survey, all doors and windows were boarded.

The Holmes House is a typical post-WWII single-family residence located at the northwest edge of the UMass campus. At the time of survey, no property records were available to record the structure’s history or the property’s chain of title.

• From the Massachusetts Historical Commission, UMass Amherst Building Survey reports (2009).