Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

31,33 Bridge Street

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Thomas McDonnell and his wife Mary A., built themselves a fine home and barn on a very large (over 110,000 square feet) parcel of land in the 1890's. McDonnell was a partner in McDonnell & Cook, granite dealers, at 187 Water Street. Ten years later, in the 1900's, they built a double house on their property, present address 23-25 Bridge Street. After 1907 the 31, 33 Bridge Street residence was sold off as a separate 22,000 square feet lot, and Mary A. McDonnell retained the 23-25 Bridge Street property with the large lot of 77,913 square feet. The original barn on the property has been enlarged and converted to apartments.

The entire parcel of land belonging to Thomas McDonnell was the property of Peter Butler in 1888. Butler was one of the subsequent owners of the Quincy Homestead, 34 Butler Road, which was part of the original 1635 grant to Edmund Quincy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Assessors Records.
Atlas of Norfolk County, Mass, 1876.
Robinson's Atlas of Norfolk County, Mass, 1888.
Atlas of the City of Quincy, 1897.
Atlas of the City of Quincy, 1907.
Quincy City Directories, 1868, 1878, 1888, 1898, 1910, 1922.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Although this 1890s residence has been unfortunately clad in aluminum siding, it has managed to retain many of its Queen Anne characteristics. Of particular note is the fine front porch supported by typical turned posts, joined at the top by a frieze made of geometric wood cut outs. The entrance has the original wood door with the upper half made of a glazed panel. The east elevation has a two story gabled bay window, complete with brackets and pendants at the cut-off corners. Still visible is the overhang of the gables over the second floor and the overhang of the second floor over the first floor, giving the house a picturesque massing under its ridge slate roof. It is set on a typical Quincy granite foundation. The fenestration is regular, composed of two over two windows; only the facade window have retained their decoratively shaped lintels. The original barn at 33 Bridge Street has been converted to a single residence. It is a rectangular structure, with a large gable punctuated by a triangular window at the apex, and a regular rectangular window. This Queen Anne complex is part of the Quincy Center Local Historic District.

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