Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

87 Conant Road

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Atlantic neighborhood in North Quincy is bordered by the Neponset River to the North and Quincy Bay to the East. It was once part of Dorchester and with the Old North Precinct that had split off from Braintree, became part of the Town of Quincy in 1792. The Jockey Club of Boston set up the first mile track course in the state in 1812 in a section of Atlantic known as Billings Plains and less than one hundred years later the track was filled in with new homes. Like its neighbors, Montclair and Wollaston, most of the community of Atlantic was built in the first third of the 20th century. From colonial times until the Civil War North Quincy was referred to as "The Farms" and it was the large Newbury. Wilson, Billings, and Glover farms that were split up for residences by real estate developers David H. MacKay, Henry Hunt, Maurice E. Kilpatrick, John E. Poland, Henry J. Grass and Charles M. Conant, Henry Blackwell, and Walter Webb. The development process was greatly accelerated by the Old Colony Railroad which began operations in 1845, eventually establishing stations in Atlantic, Norfolk Downs (the southern section of Atlantic), and Wollaston as well as by the advent of Quincy's extensive street railway system.

In 1908 there moved into Atlantic a Boston real estate promoter by the name of Charles M. Conant. He had secured possession of three or four large estates bordering upon Atlantic Beach and he went to work in building streets and putting the house lots on the market. Conant Road he named for himself, as well as Colby for his wife, and Hovey and Milton Roads for his two sons. The land at 87 Conant Road was in 1898 still part of the old Glover farm. Arthur O. and Joseph Roberts had bought the property by 1907, erecting the house before 1923.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Assessors Records.
Building Permit, 1926 (alterations).
H. Hobart Holly, Quincy Historical Society.
H. Hobart Holly, ed. Quincy: 350 Years, 1974, p. 4.
William S. Pattee. A History of Old Braintree and Quincy, 1878, p. 55.
John Ramsdell. "Historic North Quincy". ["Written about 1934"]. Typed manuscript at Quincy Historical Society.
Daniel Munro Wilson. Three Hundred Years of Quincy 1625-1925. 1925, p. 280-281.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The "Prairie Bungalow" Style, a Cambridge Historical Commission label describes residences built in the early 20th century which espouse elements from both the California based Bungalow Style and the Middle West based Prairie Style. Architects of both styles sought to escape from the historicism of the past and the emphasis on classicism; there were interested in building simpler and more functional houses which also reflected the climatic conditions of their respective areas. The California Bungalow is characterized by a low pitched gable roof with a shed dormer and covered veranda while the Prairie type house has a predominantly horizontal appearance which relates to the rolling prairies. Materials used include stucco, contrasted with dark wood trim, cobblestones for foundations and chimneys and wood left in its natural state.

There are two Prairie-Bungalow residences with a Mediterranean twist in the Atlantic area: 389 Quincy Shore Drive and this residence at 87 Conant Road. Beautifully sited overlooking Quincy Bay, this house is a fine example of a Prairie style house of the early 20th century. Decorative details include insets of green tiles in the walls, decorative bracketed window boxes and large rafter ends brackets under the eaves which emphasize the house's horizontality. The fenestration is composed a varied sized casement windows; the facade has a central entrance with three semi- circular fanlights over the door and atop the two windows framing it. On each side are French doors leading to the front garden and on the second floor are evenly disposed windows. The stucco wall covering with dark wood trim is an appropriate material for an ocean-side villa, evoking 19th century resort homes of the Mediterranean area. It is a fine picturesque component in the Quincy Shore Drive streetscape.

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