Historic Panel Approves 72 Mount Auburn Addition

Historic District Commission · Meeting of July 23, 2026

Watertown's Historic District Commission approved a revised certificate for a seven-unit addition at 72 Mount Auburn Street, 4-0. Architect Danny Ware presented changes made since the Zoning Board of Appeals altered a design the commission first approved in June 2025 under Case PZ-25-33, including a cut from eight to seven units and new two-tone stained-wood cladding. Commissioners debated at length where a copper banding detail should terminate on the building's corner, with one member saying "that band was like, keep looking at me," before agreeing it should end at the "inside corner of the front facade." The approval required the pergola be moved back to cover only two windows of the 1830 historic house and two exterior doors be replaced to match original materials.

The commission also approved, 4-0, removal of two rear windows at 235 Mount Auburn Street for owner Robert Purdy.

In the full story:

• Approval of April Meeting Minutes
• Certificate of Appropriateness: 235 Mount Auburn Street
• Certificate of Appropriateness: 72 Mount Auburn Street Residential Addition
• Administrative Matters
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,858 words

Source: the Historic District Commission meeting of July 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.