1651

1651 Maine Street is a very early Italianate built on this site in 1855. This home is the best example of Italianate in Quincy. What makes this house different than the 1870’s Italianate houses on the tour is its formality and pronounced symmetry that the other houses have to a lesser degree. Built in red brick, this house is topped with a small square copula that extends out of the low-pitched hip roof. The cornice on the house was very deep and has very ornate double brackets that resemble those seen on Renaissance Italian villas.  The narrow half round windows on the second floor are very typical of the high style Italianate. Later these shelf round arches are softened to segmental arches, a detail more popular with the second empire homes.

One extraordinary element that has been preserved on this house are the operable shutters that flank the double hung windows and the tin roof that possibly dates from the 1920’s. A window detail that is not seen here is the use of cast iron window hoods. These were a popular mass-produced item but were not used in the west until the 1860’s or 1870’s.   The front portico leads out to the street facade and creates a formal entry, which is no longer used because there is no walk up to it. The entry to the house is from the rear of the next street south. The trim and the woodwork are classical in concept but are simplified like many country homes of the same period. Later additions were made to this house but they did not effect the overall character of the house.

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