16 Murray Street is a one and one-half-story, gable-front, two over three-bay, wood frame structure on the east side of Murray Street between Peru and Allen Streets. The entrance, which is located in the southernmost bay, is surrounded by a simple entablature. Cornice returns help to define the front façade. An ell projecting to the south was added by 1890.¹ A final small addition to the rear of the building completed its construction between 1926 and 1942.²

This house was built between 1857 and 1869 for Alex Diette and J.B. Robarge,³ local blacksmiths and carriage makers who owned several rental properties in the area. C.J. Alger, an attorney who lived across Murray Street, owned and rented the property in 1890.⁴ The building continued to be rented until 1923, with such occupants as Thomas Wheeler (1900s, employed by J.R. Booth), Thomas Crosby (1910s, blacksmith), and Joseph St. John (proprietor of a grocery on LaFountain Street).⁵ In 1923, the property was acquired by Joseph Lariviere, a carpenter, who lived at the site until 1938.⁶ Lariviere sold the property to Donald Crosby in 1938, who returned the building to rental use until he sold it again in 1968.⁷ Edward L. Kaufman, a gas station attendant at Field's Service Station, rented the house in 1940.⁸