Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

39 Edwards Street

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Quincy Point neighborhood, once called the Old Fields District, is bounded by Quincy Avenue (west), Elm Street (north), Town River Bay (east) and the Weymouth Fore River and the Braintree Town Line (south). Two major early roads, now heavily commercialized, originate in Quincy Center and run the length of Quincy Point: Quincy Avenue, the old Braintree-Weymouth Turnpike and Washington Street, the old Quincy-Hingham Turnpike terminating in the massive Fore River Bridge (1934). Although some inhabitants of Quincy Point were associated with the nearby granite and other industries, one of prime reasons for the development of the Point was the commercial maritime industry located on the Town and Fore Rivers. Quincy Neck, the site of the giant Fore River Shipyard (now General Dynamics), is delineated by Haywards Creek, the Weymouth Fore River and Bent's Creek. Some boat yards still remain, but many others used to dot the Town River Bay shoreline. The other major industrial complex is the Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Co. located at the Fore River Bridge. Many residential developments sprang up in Quincy Point; one was Edison Park, an area north of Washington Street developed in the 1890's.

Amos E. Damon, partner in Sanborn & Damon, plumbers, stoves and ranges, located at 1428 Hancock Street was probably the builder of 39 Edwards Street. The house appears on the 1888 Atlas but does not name the owner. The Damons remained in residence until 1927 when Nicholas Pililas, a salesman, was the new owner.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
H. Hobart Holly. Quincy: 350 Years, 1974, p. 49, 51.
H. Hobart Holly. "Quincy's Granite Hills Were Golden". Quincy History. Spring, 1980.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The Queen Anne Style was the dominant domestic style from about 1880 until 1900. The style begun in England with the work of Richard Norman Shaw. It harkened back to pre-18th century Queen Anne classically oriented architecture and back to picturesque late medieval structures of England. At the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Americans were first exposed to English Queen Anne architecure. Within the decade, the style had replaced the previous foreign derived styles, such as Gothic Revival, Italianate and French Second Empire (Mansardic). The salient characteristic of the style was the emphasis on irregularity of plan, of massing, of color, of windows types and of wall textures. There were many wall overhangs, types of roofs and elaborate chimneys; ornamentation was ubiquitous. With time, picturesque elements were replaced with classic detailing and soon after, late 1890s, this led to the Shingle Style and the Colonial Revival Style.

This fine Queen Anne cottage was selected for the present Quincy inventory as a excellent example of the style, a modest house of the 1880s built in an attractive manner. Gable-end-to-the street, it's facade is dominated by the pleasant wrap-around balustraded porch which is supported by turned posts and small delicate corner brackets. There is viusal interest in the wall articulation which is achieved by the use of plain shingles and pendant shaped shingles in the gables. The fenestration is almost regular with the exception of the square gable window and the Queen Anne stair window; all the others are sash two over two windows. A cross gabled projection breaks tbe side elevation. The roof lines projects slightly reinforcing the picturesque quality of the residence. As with most 19th century bouses in Quincy, it is set on a granite foundation. It is an attractive component on the Edwards Street streetscape.

Back