Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

26 Edison Street

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Quincy Point neighborhood, once called the Old Fields District, is bounded by Quincy Avenue (west), Elm Street (north), Town River Bay (east) and the Weymouth Fore River and the Braintree Town Line (south). Two major early roads, now heavily commercialized, originate in Quincy Center and run the length of Quincy Point: Quincy Avenue, the old Braintree-Weymouth Turnpike and Washington Street, the old Quincy-Hingham Turnpike terminating in the massive Fore River Bridge (1934). Although some inhabitants of Quincy Point were associated with the nearby granite and other industries, one of prime reasons for the development of the Point was the commercial maritime industry located on the Town and Fore Rivers. Quincy Neck, the site of the giant Fore River Shipyard (now General Dynamics), is delineated by Haywards Creek, the Weymouth Fore River and Bent's Creek. Some boat yards still remain, but many others used to dot the Town River Bay shoreline. The other major industrial complex is the Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Co. located at the Fore River Bridge. Many residential developments sprang up in Quincy Point; one was Edison Park, an area north of Washington Street developed in the 1890's.

Number 26 Edison Street is located in the above mentioned Edison Park, developed by the Edison Park Land Associates. The house was probably built for Frank A. Souther, a mason, and the property remained in the Souther family until after 1935.The land on which 26 Edison Street is located belonged in 1888 to John E. Drake, a partner in T. A. Whicher & Co., boot and shoe manufacturers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
H. Hobart Holly. Quincy: 350 Years, 1974, p. 49, 51.
H. Hobart Holly. "Quincy's Granite Hills Were Golden". Quincy History. Spring, 1980.
Quincy Patriot Ledger, Souvenir Edition, 1899, p. 33.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Quincy is rich in residential Queen Anne architecture. Edison Street has a fine enclave of three fine Queen Anne houses, of which 26 Edison is one. It is the most important of the three for it is the only remaining house of this particular design on the Edison Street which has retained its architectural identity. The others have been so badly altered or "renovated" that they have lost all integrity. Built late in the period, 26 Edison Street has a complex roof structure which seems to envelop the house, a harbinger of the forthcoming Shingle Style. There is great interest in surface articulation with the varied types of shingles, the oriel window whose roof barely projects from the main roof, the shed dormer and the two story bay window in the front. The fenestration is irregular, with two paned sash windows and a dramatic large window in the side elevation consisting of a large central pane, a double row of small square lights on top and single lights on the sides. The house is a most attractive component of Edison Street and a unit in the street's enclave of fine unchanged Queen Anne residences which have kept their architectural integrity.

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