Corner Stone

The old high school didn't make the century mark, but came close.  It saw more than 80 graduating classes.  It looks as though the cornerstone is going to be saved . . . nice work. 

Circular Elements

This view of the new Central Middle School is located on the corner of St. Ann's Road and Hancock Street.  The circular design element reminds me of this one at Quincy High School.  I wonder what it's function will be . . .

Thursday Is "This Old House Day"

This single family house at 75 Russell Street in the Atlantic section of Quincy, was built in 1890.  There are lots of windows used in this house design which must allow some gorgeous light inside.  If you look down the driveway you will notice a side portico.  The columns used in the side entrance are similar to the ones on the front porch which makes me think that the portico is part of the original design.

Presidential Finial

Happy Skywatch Friday! This finial is bathed in sunshine atop the gate of the Adams Mansion.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

This 1767 saltbox was the birthplace of our 6th president, John Quincy Adams. I like the asymmetry of the saltbox, which takes its name from a wooden lidded box that was once used to hold salt.

The saltbox style was a popular architectural style in early colonial America because it was considered a single-story building (from the back) and was therefore exempt from Queen Ann's tax on houses greater than 1-story.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

This grand double residence at 39-41 Grandview Avenue was built in the shingle style in the early 1890s. This is one of the grandest Queen Anne houses in the area with the status symbol of the period: a tall three story corner tower. Of particular note are the Richardsonian Syrian arches on the second floor porch which were once probably unglazed. They recall the entrance of the 1882 Crane Library by H. H. Richardson which can be seen here.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

This 1890 colonial at 71 Beach Street has some interesting angles and details. The owners chose paint colors which show off the turn of the century details.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

This is the second posting of my favorite 3-family Queen Anne house in Quincy. It is located at 10 Winthrop Ave. (See previous post by clicking here).The late afternoon light really celebrates the curved, balustraded, wrap-around porches set on their granite foundations.

The other side of the house includes these fantastic conical towers.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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This is a Cape Cod style house located off of Adams Street. Reverend Timothy Dwight, a president of Yale, is credited with recognizing these houses as a class and coining the term "Cape Cod" for them. The early ones were symmetrical, with a center chimney, clapboard shingles and shutters to protect the double hung multiple pained windows in howling Northeast storms. If you enlarge this image you will see a wonderful old street light as well.

Sunday is for Church

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This steeple at the Bethany Congregational Church has been hit by lightning on numerous occasions but those gargoyles seem to guard it from too much damage. Bees used to be kept here and honey harvested by a minister from another local church. This late Gothic Revival church was built in 1927 by J.William Beal & Sons.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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This impressive 1870 mansardic towered house at 67 Prospect Ave. is considered a "Second Empire" house because of all its ornamentation. Just look at those windows with the elaborate lintels and the wrap around porch. I chose this angle because it enabled me to show you most of the house.

At dusk on Halloween, this house with the square tower is the fright of all the little trick or treaters who dare to tread past with older siblings who inform them that the house is haunted.

Thursday is "This Old House" Day

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Some of the wonderful 19th century residences near Quincy Center like this one on Whitney Road, have been turned over to house businesses like lawyers and doctors.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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This 1900 colonial revival home located at 121 Prospect Avenue has not one but two incredible wrap around porches. It is beautifully painted to show off some of the great bracket work under the eaves. What a beauty!

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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This stucco house on Presidents Hill has a beautiful symmetry. It also has some nice Arts and Crafts architectural features.

Thursday is "This Old House" Day

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It was the screened porch that first caught my eye on this 1935, gambrel roofed house at 155 Sherman Street in the Wollaston section of Quincy. The columns and porch give this house some charm. I bet there are some nice details inside as well, like hardwood floors, glass door knobs, brass hardware, and maybe French doors.

Thursday is "This Old House" Day

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This 1885 colonial at 60 Willow Street has a beautiful symmetry and some nice architectural features like the bay window on the left side of the house.

Thursday is "This Old House" Day

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One of the earliest houses built on Wollaston Hill is pictured here at 79 Winthrop Avenue. Built in the 1870s, this house was most likely built by George F. Pinkham, the person most responsible for the development of the Wollaston Hill area. It was on the cutting edge of the architecture of the time, a combination of Italianate and Gothic Revival.

The distinctive concave roof seen here was named for a 17th century French architect, Francois Mansart. In the 1850s, the style was revived in France by Napoleon III, hence the term "Second Empire" or "mansardic". Quincy has a few mansardic buildings but this is one of its finest.

Thursday is "This Old House" Day

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This 1900 colonial revival house on Grandview Avenue is getting a new coat of paint. There is so much detail in this house. The paint choices really play up some of the details. I like the red accent paint being added to the balustrade.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"`

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This impeccably maintained Tudor Revival style house is located at the intersection of Sea Street and Quincy Shore Drive in the Adams shore section. Thousands of commuters pass by this house on their way to work each day. The flower beds and ornamental holders are usually changed for each season.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

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This prairie-Bungalow style house at 561 Quincy Shore Drive was constructed in 1919, by local architect-carpenter-builder Peter Swanson for $5000. This picturesque house across from Wollaston Beach, has a facing of smooth pebbles evoking the beaches of the New England coast; it's an unusual wall covering for Quincy. It has a low pitch hip roof which emphasizes the houses's horizontality and bands of windows of Prairie style houses. The chimney is faced with pebbles and the pebble motif is further carried out in the landscaping of the front where there are short pebble retaining walls.