Quincy House Tour

1550mn

1550

This section of Maine Street, developed in the 1860’s and 1870’s contains many houses built in the Italianate style or variations on it. 1550 Main Street is an excellent example of an Italianate Style house seen in middle America. This house is constructed completely of wood and is sheathed on the outside with thin Clapboards. In massing, the house is composed symmetrically about the Maine Street Facade with a centrally placed door flanked by two bay windows.

Like true Italianate homes, this home has a low sloped hip roof with deep overhangs, and a large cornice with large double brackets. These architectural ideas are derived from Italian villa design and allude to the flat roof palaces of the Renaissance.

The front portico of the house is not classically detailed. Rather the columns and eave lines have simple wood that resembles the stick style more than the Italianate. The veranda connected to the portico wraps around the front of the house and extends back to the later additions of the house. This veranda was possibly an addition when wrap around porches became popular in home design. Other elements of the house suggest the possibility of later changes, but this would merely be speculation because the workmanship of the house is superb.

Currently, the house is painted white, probably not an historically accurate color. After the 1893 World’s fair in Chicago, painting houses all white (mostly when they were wood, but sometimes, even the brick was painted) in imitation of the white plaster buildings seen there was quite popular. By painting houses white, it made small towns look cleaner and gave the impression that the buildings were built of stone. White became a preferred trim and house color and was incorrectly applied to buildings of varying styles.