Quincy House Tour

1477mn

1477

1477 Maine Street, built at the same time period as the rest of the homes on this block, represents a mixture of the Renaissance revival styles of the Italianate and the Second Empire. The house’s form is symmetrical in mass and has centrally aligned front doors and windows. The roof of the house is a straight slope Mansard roof with three symmetrically placed dormers. These elements represent the Second-Empire forms of the house.

Much of the architectural detailing associated with this house is of the more restrained Italianate style. Tall, narrow double-hung windows with stone window hoods, a full-length front Portico and large double brackets are items seem primarily on Italianate homes. Often these two styles were mixed together because owners often liked the Mansard roof of the Second Empire but preferred that the ornament be more restrained. The result was often the use of the Italianate cornice and window details.

The two styles were also mixed in other capacities quite often as Italianate homes with large second empire towers. By the end of the 1870’s, the differences between the two style were very hard to differentiate. The mixture of the two styles on this home are in fact very clear and show eclecticism in architectural design during this period in Quincy.