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UNITED FIRST PARISH CHURCH (UNITARIAN)
CHURCH OF THE PRESIDENTS
Quincy, Massachusetts
DEC 3 1936
Historic Structure Report
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation
http://archive.org/details/historicstructurOOmass
UNITED FIRST PARISH CHURCH (UNITARIAN)
CHURCH OF THE PRESIDENTS
HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT
Quincy, Massachusetts
By:
Peggy A. Albee
Richard C. Crisson
Judith M. Jacob
Katharine Lacy
Through:
Northeast Cultural Resources Center
Northeast Field Area, National Park Service
Lowell, Massachusetts
April 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES AND CREDITS
viii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
xvi
ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
xvii
SITE HISTORY AND LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT
I. 1
THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE: 1634 3
THE OLD TRAINING FIELD: 1635-1730 4
THE HANCOCK MEETING HOUSE
7
ADDITION OF LYDIA BAXTER'S LAND
12
CHANGES IN QUINCY CENTER CIRCA 1800 13
CONSTRUCTION OF THE STONE TEMPLE
16
DEVELOPMENT OF THE GROUNDS AROUND THE STONE TEMPLE ... 18
THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUINCY CENTER 1830-1888 24
CHANGES TO THE PARISH GROUNDS: 1883-1917 34
CHANGES TO THE GROUNDS: THE 1950s 49
SITE CONCLUSIONS 55
H. BUILDING HISTORY AND EVOLUTION: GENERAL ASPECTS 57
THE NEED FOR A NEW HOUSE OF WORSHIP 59
THE BUILDING COMMITTEE, AN ARCHITECT, AND A PLAN 62
CONSTRUCTION PREPARATIONS 66
in
CONSTRUCTION OF THE STONE TEMPLE: 1827-1828 72
Exterior Elements 72
Masonry 72
The Columns and Portico 75
The Roof 79
The Tower 81
Interior Elements 84
The Tomb and Tablet 84
Framing, Floors, and Finish Details 85
Pews 87
The Pulpit 89
Window Openings and Doorways 90
Ceiling 92
Finishing Touches 93
EARLY REPAIRS: THE 1830s 97
IMPROVEMENTS
1840-1858 99
THE RENOVATION OF
1859 104
THE YEARS 1860-1887 „ 108
THE CHAPEL ADDITION
121
ALTERATIONS IN THE 1890s 128
FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY 132
SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY 155
m. BUILDING HISTORY AND EVOLUTION: SPECIFIC ASPECTS 173
THE ORGAN
175
THE HEATING SYSTEM 178
IV
CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES AND GENERAL
IV.
RECOMMENDATIONS
183
CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES
185
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
188
V. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS 193
EXTERIOR ELEMENTS
195
General Information 195
Foundation 196
Walls 196
Porches 198
Doorways 199
Windows 200
Blinds (Exterior Shutters) 203
Roofs 203
Drainage Systems 204
Chimneys 204
Utility Systems 205
Grounds 205
INTERIOR ELEMENTS 211
Church 211
Basement - Sunday School, Ancillary Spaces (Rooms 005-014, 021-24) 211
. .
First Story - Sanctuary (Room 103) 212
Second Story - Galleries (Rooms 203A, 203B, and 203C) 213
Attic (Room 300) 214
v
Tower 214
Basement Crypt (Rooms 001, 002, 003, and 004) 214
First-Story Vestibule (Rooms 100, 101, 102) 215
Second-Story Vestibule (Rooms 200, 201, and 202) 216
Plinth Rooms (Rooms 301, 301A, 301B, and 301C) 217
Shaft Room (Room 401) 217
Addition 218
Basement Social Area (Rooms 015-019) 218
Parish Hall (Room 104) 219
Minister's Study (Room 105) 220
Stair Hall (Room 106) 220
Ladies Parlor (Room 107) 220
Service Kitchen (Room 108) 221
North Porch (Room 109) 221
Attic (Rooms 204-205) 222
CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT AND REPAIR RECOMMENDATIONS
VI. 227
INTRODUCTION
229
EXTERIOR ELEMENTS 230
General Information 230
Overview of Conditions 230
Roofs 231
Chimneys 235
Walls 236
Doorways 239
Windows 241
VI
INTERIOR ELEMENTS 266
Church 266
General Information 266
Attic Story (Room 300) 266
Second Story - Galleries (Rooms 203A, 203B, and 203C) 267
First Story - Sanctuary (Room 103) 268
Basement - Sunday School and Ancillary Spaces
(Rooms 005-014 and 021-024) 269
Tower 270
General Information 270
Shaft Room (Room 401) 271
Plinth Rooms (Rooms 301, 301A, 301B, and 301C) 271
Second-Story Vestibule (Rooms 200, 201, and 202) 272
First-Story Vestibule (Rooms 100, 101, and 102) 273
Basement Crypt (Rooms 001, 002, 003, and 004) 274
Addition 274
General Information 274
Attics (Rooms 204 and 205) 274
Parish Hall (Room 104) 275
Ladies Parlor (Room 107) 276
First-Story Rooms - Minister's Study (Room 105), Stair Hall (Room
106), Service Kitchen (Room 108), North Porch (Room 109) ... 277
Basement - Kitchen, Social Room, and Ancillary Spaces
(Rooms 015-019) 277
APPENDICES
VTJ. 287
APPENDIX A. 1888 Drawings for Addition, by Charles Edward Parker 289
APPENDIX B. 1939 Presentation Plans, by City of Quincy
Building Department Record Plan Project 297
APPENDIX C. 1960s Renovation Plans, by C. Francis N. Roberts 311
APPENDIX D. Finishes Study, by Judith M. Jacob 317
VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY 391
vii
LIST OF FIGURES AND CREDITS
Figure 1. Sketch map of Quincy showing early land grants, including the
Coddington and Quincy grants. From the Ezekial C. Sargent Quincy
Land Records Collection, Book H ("Training Field, Ye Plain Land of
William Tynge East of Hancock Street."), 1957. Courtesy of the
Quincy Historical Society 5
Figure 2. Sketch map of Quincy Center showing Salter's Farm and the Training
Field. From the Ezekial C. Sargent Quincy Land Records Collection,
Book H ("Training Field, Ye Plain Land of William Tynge East of
Hancock Street."), 1957. Courtesy of the Quincy Historical Society 6
Figure 3. Sketch map of parcels included in the Training Field. From the Ezekial
C. Sargent Quincy Land Records Collection, Book H ("Training Field,
Ye Plain Land of William Tynge East of Hancock Street."), 1957.
Courtesy of the Quincy Historical Society 9
Figure 4. The Training Field, Braintree, Massachusetts, 1730. Drawn by Edward
H. Dewson, 1897. Courtesy of the Quincy Historical Society 10
Figure 5. The Hancock Meeting House. Woodblock print, n.d. Courtesy of the
Quincy Historical Society 11
Figure 6. Map of the Town of Quincy, 1795. Courtesy of the Quincy Historical
Society 14
Figure 7. View of the Village of Quincy, 1822. Courtesy of the Quincy
Historical Society 15
Figure 8. "View of the Quincy Temple", ca. 1835. "Drawn on Stone by J.
&
Kidder, Annin Smith Senefelder Lith. Co." Courtesy of the
Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities 22
Figure 9. "The Adams' Temple, at Quincy," from Gleason's Pictorial Drawing
Room Companion, ca. 1851-1854. Courtesy of of the Society for the
Preservation of New England Antiquities 23
Figure 10. Plan of the Town of Quincy in the County of Norfolk, by John
G. Haley, 1830. Courtesy of the Quincy Historical Society 26
Figure 11. Plan of the Towns of Quincy and Milton by Henry M. Fosdick, Civil
Engineer, 1849. Courtesy of the Quincy Historical Society 27
Figure 12. Map of Quincy, 1856. Courtesy of the Quincy Historical Society 28
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