Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

19-34 Baxter Street

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Quincy Point neighborhood 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 more early roads, now heavily commercialized, originate in Quincy Center and run the length o Quincy Point: Quincy Avenue, the old Braintree-Weymouth Turnpike and Washington Street, the old Quincy-Hingham Turnpike. Although some inhabitants of Quincy Point were associated with the nearby granite, shoe 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, the largest concern being the giant Fore River Shipyard (now General Dynamics). Some boat yards still remain, but many others used to dot the Town River Bay shoreline. Residential developments sprang up in Quincy Point; One was Edison Park, developed in the 1890's off Washington Street.

This late nineteenth century streetscape of Quincy Cottages was once in an industrial as well as a residential neighborhood. Just below the cottages in 1888, was the shoe factory of John E. Drake. The manufacture of boots and shoes was Quincy's leading industry in the 1850's with the work allotted by a central manufacturer and performed in the home and workshop. The land on which the cottages are located belonged to Josiah Baxter, a farmer. The Baxters were among the early settlers in Quincy and very prominent in the town for many generations. Some of the cottages were built by the Drakes, probably for rental. In 1897, "E. Drake", the widow of John E. Drake, was living at the cottage at 26-28 Baxter Street.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Building permits. alterations.
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 Massachusetts Historical Commission had added to the architectural nomenclature of Massachusetts the term "Quincy Cottage" ("Southwest Quincy: Then and Now." unpaginated) which refers to the workers' cottages built in Southwest Quincy in the mid 19th century. A typical "Quincy Cottage" is a traditional one and one half story rectangular ridge roof structure adapted for two families. The characteristic element of most of these houses is the placement of the front dormers; they pierce not only the lower slope of the roof but also the eave line. The architectural ornamentation reflects the style of the building's date; if the Italianate Style is then in fashion, brackets and porches with square chamefered posts would be applied, or should the Queen Anne style be the current mode, turned posts for the porches and elaborate rails for the balustrade would be used. It was a practical and attractive solution to answer the need to house the important workforce of Quincy Point.

This attractive streetscape consists of four "Quincy Cottages" built in the 1880s, each with salient characteristics of the style. They include the typical dormers piercing the eave line (see photograph), and the central double entrances; one of the houses has Italianate brackets under the eaves. There is variety in the house color, and the treatment of the entrances. It is a picturesque enclave of late 19th century houses, and a reminder of fine examples of worker housing in that period.

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