Six Moon Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Six Moon Hill Historic District
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Six Moon Hill house, designed by Jean and Norman Fletcher
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 4, 8 Bird Hill & 1-40 Moon Hill Rds, 16, 24 Swan Ln., Lexington, Massachusetts |
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| Architect | The Architects' Collaborative |
| Architectural style | Modern |
| NRHP reference No. | 15000981 |
| Added to NRHP | January 19, 2016 |
Six Moon Hill is a special neighborhood in Lexington, Massachusetts. It was designed by a group of architects called The Architects' Collaborative (TAC). This neighborhood has many unique, modern houses. They were built between 1948 and 1950. Six Moon Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. This means it is an important historical place.
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What is Six Moon Hill?
The architects at TAC believed in working together. They used this idea for everything in Six Moon Hill. This included designing the homes, building them, and even how the community would run.
TAC bought about 20 acres of land. They divided it into 29 equal lots. The first houses were built in a modern style. They were rectangular with flat roofs and timber sides. These homes are located on a sloping hill along a small road that ends in a cul-de-sac.
Six Moon Hill is a community where everyone helps make decisions. Each family pays a small fee and has a say in how things are run. Many of the original architects also lived here. These included Benjamin C. Thompson, Norman C. Fletcher, and Jean B. Fletcher.
Some famous people have also lived in Six Moon Hill:
- Nobel Prize winner for chemistry, Konrad Emil Bloch.
- Nobel Prize winner for physics, Samuel C. C. Ting.
- Dr. Thomas C. Chalmers, a past president of a big medical center.
- John C. Sheehan, a chemist who was the first to create penicillin in a lab.
- The historian Simon Schama lived here from 1981 to 1993. He once said it was "a great place for kids and historians."
How Six Moon Hill Started
In 1948, the TAC architects wanted to build their own community. They found the land in Lexington during a ski trip. They bought it from a car dealer. The dealer had six old cars in a barn on the property. This is how the project got its name, "Six Moon Hill." Even though one car was a "Franklin," they liked the name too much to change it.
The goal was not just to build houses. They also wanted to create an ideal community. Norman Fletcher, one of the founders, said they were inspired by ideas of a "perfect society" and "fairness for everyone." This idea of equality was also important to Walter Gropius, a famous architect and leader of TAC. He believed everyone in TAC should have equal shares. Gropius himself did not live on Moon Hill. He had already built his own house, the Gropius House, in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
Modern Houses in the Neighborhood
One of the newest houses in Six Moon Hill is called the "Big Dig House." It is special because it was built using materials from the Big Dig. The Big Dig was a huge highway tunnel project in Boston.
The owner, Paul Pedini, wanted to use leftover materials. These included concrete road parts and extra rebar (metal bars used to strengthen concrete). The house was designed by Single Speed Design. It is known for being good for the environment and saving energy. It even won an award for its creative design.
Images for kids
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A TAC-designed house from 1950, with some newer parts added
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Rough, mossy stone walls can be seen all around the neighborhood
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Neighborhood volunteers fixing the TAC-designed pool house (built around 1960)
