Quincy House Tour

1241

1241 Park Place is an American Vernacular house form known as the American Four Square house with Prairie style detailing. The American Four square was a popular early Twentieth Century rural house form that was often elaborated with different porch forms. If one were to remove the porch of this house, a simple brick box would be revealed.

Fortunately Ernest Wood, well known Prairie School architect, designed a few unique sets of details. The large arched window in the roof dormer is a unique feature and follows no set architectural style. The deep overhanging porch supported by large brick piers stress the horizontal and break up the box-like mass of the house. Note that this house contains none of the detail that the Queen Anne houses possess.

By 1906, much of this ornate detail, as well as the flamboyant colors of the 1880s and 90s existed in home design. Much of what was being done was an abstracted simplicity that stresses the rough handmade feature of the early American house form.

Symmetry dominates this house. The entry is clearly defined as being the most important feature on the front facade.