Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

36 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. Many residential developments sprang up in Quincy Point; one was Edison Park, an area north of Washington Street developed in the 1890's.

Number 36 Edison Street is located in the above mentioned Edison Park, developed by the Edison Park Land Associates. The house was probably built for Abbie Higgins, who owned a dry goods shop not far away at 162 Washington Street. Higgins retained the property until about 1907 when she sold to Thomas Griffen, an electrician. The Griffens remained in residence until after 1935. The land on which 36 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 consisting of three fine Queen Anne houses, of which 36 Edison is one of them. It is the simplest of the three houses with an almost compact massing when compared with the asymmetrical silhouettes of both 25 and 26 Edison Street. Interest in the house arises from the use of varied shaped shingles, plain and notched. These are found in the string course and in the slightly projecting gables The surface articulation is subtle, yet rich in simple details, such as the cut-off corners, which give the house its attractive picturesque facade. It is set on a typical Quincy granite foundation. The fenestration is irregular. The owners have maintained its architectural identity by altering very little, only the screening in of the side porch. 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.

Back