Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

5-7 Buckley Street

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Southwest Quincy neighborhood is bounded by the Southeast Expressway (west), Copeland-Common-Tinson-Suomi-Quarry-Granite (north), the MBTA tracks (east) and the Braintree Town Line (south). Southwest Quincy is similar to West Quincy as it was also the result of the phenomenal expansion of the granite industry which began in the early 19th century. Fueled by the first commercial railway (1826) and new techniques in quarrying stone, growth accelerated well into the 1900's. The late 1860's saw new techniques in polishing stone, which in turn spurred the growth of Southwest Quincy's granite working, polishing, and tool and machine shops. To meet the demands of the industry, the worker population grew and new immigrants, mainly from Sweden, Finland, Scotland, and Italy, settled in the newly subdivided Bass Common and Captain's Plains with the Scandinavian node of settlement located at Brewer's Corners. Earlier important industries in Southwest Quincy were the grist mill (1640-1825) which produced the grain for the early inhabitants to barter between themselves and to trade for essential items imported from England, and the Wilson Marsh's coach lace business which operated from 1797 to 1837.

This double residence at 5-7 Buckley Street was probably built by Carl W. A. Linder, a patternmaker, and the Linder family stayed in residence until after 1935. Linder also kept chickens as he applied for a coop permit in 1916. The house is located in the Bass Common area of Southwest Quincy, an area that was subdivided in the 1870's for the settlement of immigrants from Sweden, Finland, and Italy who had come to work in the granite shops and quarries.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
H. Hobart Holly. "Brewer's Corner Formed by Granite Industry". Quincy History. Spring, 1982.
H. Hobart Holly, Quincy Historical Society.
H. Hobart Holly. "Quincy's Granite Hills Were Golden". Quincy History. Spring, 1980.
Walter O. Nisula. "Granite Drew the Finnish to Quincy". Quincy History, Spring, 1984.
"Southwest Quincy: Then and Now". Quincy Neighborhood Housing Services. Text by Julie Johnson, Drawings by Joe Angelis, 1983.
"Walking Tour of Historic Southwest Quincy". Quincy Neighborhood Services, 1984.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
This double residence is a fine example of the type of worker housing available to the workforce of Southwest Quincy in the early 20th century. It is built on a variation of the American Four Square house with the typical hip roof pierced by large dormers. The double tiered balcony is reminescent of the three-decker porches being built in this same period, often with the same heavy posts and plain balustrade. The windows are particularly attractive, one large pane embellished with a transom with leaded tracery. The residence is set on a granite foundation; there are granite steps leading to the entrance as well as granite bases for the porch supports. The wall articulation is varied due to the two-story bay window in the facade and the square oriels on the side elevations. It is a fine reminder of Southwest Quincy's early 20th century history.

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