Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

56 Butler Road (John T. Cavanaugh)

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Queen Anne house on the spacious lot at the corner of Butler Road and Hudson Street just two properties away from the Quincy Center Local Historic District was designed and built by John T. Cavanagh, the well-known Quincy Commissioner of Public Works. Born in Boston in 1867, he was the son of John Cavanagh. whose skill in moving end raising buildings had made him famous.

John T. Cavanagh (1867-1956) was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then studied architecture for three years. He was known for his excellent engineering skills baving executed such commissions as the two thirty-inch siphons under the Charles River at Warren Bridge, the building of the North Harvard Bridge over the Charles River, and the building of the abutments for the Berkeley Street Bridge. In Quincy be beld the positions of water commissioner and city engineer before becoming the Commissioner of Public Works. Number 56 Butler Road was built to be the private Cavanagh residence.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Assessors Records.
National Register Nomination Form (never submitted).
Quincy Patriot Ledger, Souvenir Edition, 1899, p. 69.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
This is a an archetypal simple Queen Anne house which has retained the gable end to the street configuration of the past periods. It is set on a typical Quincy granite foundation and has a ridge roof pierced by one larger dormer. The fenestration is irregular. The porch across the facade has square posts supporting it, a geometric fret balustrade and a spindle frieze as decoration. There is a slight overhang of the front gable over the second floor, thus imparting the home with a picturesque aspect. It is a particularly fine example of the style and a most attractive component of the Butler Road streetscape.

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