A number of Watertown’s leading merchants, attorneys, and politicians built homes in the prestigious Clyman Street neighborhood, in an array of fashionable styles.
A notable Colonial Revival residence is the Elizabeth and Charles Kading House (c. 1922; 914 Clyman Street). Ionic columns support a full-width one-story porch topped by a pronounced entablature. At the second story, two symmetrical bay windows seem to extend through the roofline as dormers and are crowned by pedimented gables. Elizabeth Kading worked as a Progressive Era reformer and served on two state boards; Charles served six years as a U.S. congressman. Located across the street at number 907 is the Colonial Revival residence built in 1913 for prominent local merchant William Spoesser. Claude and Starck likely designed the two-story brick building, with such Georgian elaborations as wooden dormers with segmental-arched roofs. Four fluted Doric columns define the entrance, and above it, a bay window opens onto a balustraded balcony.
The district’s oldest surviving residence is the two-story, cream brick Theodore Prentiss House (1855; 802 Clyman). Constructed for Watertown’s first mayor, the Italianate house features wide eaves with elaborate brackets, classical wreaths along the frieze, and pediments over tall narrow windows. The ornate brick pavers along the sidewalk were cast with a star pattern. Around the corner, 802 S. 8th Street is the two-story clapboard William King House of 1908. This Beaux-Arts classical residence has a full-height portico with colossal Corinthian columns, wide eaves supported by modillions, and a central pedimented dormer.