Historic Name

85 Leigh Avenue

Address

85 Leigh Avenue

Tax Parcel

1114_6903_14

Historic District

Witherspoon-Jackson Historic District

Classification

Contributing

Number of Resources

1

Style

Other

Number of Stories

2

Material

Stucco

Historic Function

Domestic

Current Function

Domestic

Last Entry Update

2/16/2020

Setting

Description

The house is a 2-story vernacular twin with an overall L-shape. Its key features are its front porch and its L-shape. The building consists of two intersecting gabled masses, with a short gabled wall facing Leigh Avenue and a longer side wall facing Race Street. The house has asphalt shingles on its roof and exposed rafter tails below the eaves on the side walls. A small brick chimney is located on the west slope of the south section. The walls are stucco over frame. Windows are historic 2x2 double hung sash units that are generally arranged symmetrically. An attic louver is located in the peak of the gable on the south end. The front porch is a hipped roof element that extends from the west wing (87 Leigh) down along the west and south elevations of 85 Leigh. The porch features cross-framed windows and a paneled door with sidelights on its east jamb. Brick steps lead down from the porch floor to the sidewalk.

A small detached garage is located off Race Street for 85 Leigh. It has a front end gabled orientation, stuccoed walls, and an overhead garage door.

Built

1920

Architect

Builder

History

The house was constructed c. 1920. Historic maps show a vacant lot in this location as late as the Sanborn Atlas of 1918. The house first appears on the historic aerial of 1940, which shows only the front end gabled section (85 Leigh) facing Leigh Avenue. Race Street was laid out in the 1920s, replacing earlier building lots. [Note: the atlas of 1930 does not cover the north side of Leigh Avenue.]

Sources

If you have additional information or corrections to the existing information, send an email to ekim@princetonnj.gov.
Submitted information is reviewed by the Princeton HPC prior to updating the database.

2015 Photo
87 Leigh Avenue, south elevation

2015 Photo
85 Leigh Avenue, south and east elevations

2015 Photo
85 Leigh Avenue - garage