Sherman Apartments Historic District

Four buildings at the corner of Washington and Lyndhurst Streets in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood make up this district at the northern edge of Codman Square. Walter U. Sherman built three three-story brick apartment buildings here between 1904 and 1906, each first designed as a six-family dwelling and later divided into twelve units. They share a Classical Revival character, with central paired recessed entrances, rounded bays, granite and cast-stone detailing, and brick banding. The fourth building, at 18 Lyndhurst Street, dates to 1831 and began as the Dorchester Academy, a private boys' school. Its Greek Revival design features fluted Doric columns and a pediment. Sherman turned it 90 degrees and moved it about 75 feet to make room for the apartments, and it later became a two-family home. Together the buildings show how Codman Square developed once electrified streetcars improved access to downtown Boston. Many original details survive, though most windows have been replaced.