Quincy House Tour

1666mn

1666

1666 Maine Street is a house representative of the turn of the century revival styles that represent the English cottage house. In its massing, the house resembles the familiar cottage design using an L-shaped arrangement with front door situated in the corner of the L and placed off the street facade. This creates a unique and picturesque entry sequence to the house.

Windows on this house go away from typical symmetry and alignment to reflect the interior space of the house. Continuing eyelet windows step upward and correspond with the design of the stair case inside. Windows are placed randomly on the Chimney facade creating an elevation that appears vernacular to the eye.

The material of the house is smooth stucco that is broken occasionally by strips that resemble timber-framed members. However, the use of stucco and lack of timber-framing make the house appear similar to those of Frank Lloyd Wright who also used the British country houses of Voysey as inspiration for his prairie houses from 1899-1909. The roof is a low-pitched Dutch gambrel with ghirken-head gable ends. Eye-brow windows appear in the roof and add to the arts and crafts theme of the house.

The mixture of various styles into an overall cottage theme represents the turn of the century ideas of creating a new American-suburban architecture not based on formal architectural styles but rather on the vernacular.