Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

181 Adams Street (Beale-Rice House)

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
All of Adams Street was a section of the old Boston-Plymouth Highway and a important settlement area in the early days. Along this road were the primary 1634 land grants after the Mount Wollaston area became part of Boston. These grants were given on the basis of four acres per head in the family to encourage settlement.

The Beale-Rice House was built in 1792 by Captain Benjamin Beale, a petitioner for the incorporation of the Town of Quincy in 1791 and a member of the committee to build the first schoolhouse in Quincy in 1795. The house was inherited by his grandson, George Washington Beale, and his granddaughters, the last being Caroline Miller Beale who died in 1906. It was bought in 1907 by Fred. B. Rice, the son of William B. Rice, the founder of the Eventide Home in 1924. Following Rice's death in 1933, the house was vacant until about 1946 when it was purchased by three women physicians. In 1973 the Beale-Rice House became part of the Adams National Historic Site and is no longer a private residence.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Assessors Records.
William Churchill Edwards. Historic Quincy, Massachusetts, 1957, p. 60. 69.
Hobart Holly, Quincy: 350 Years, 1974, p. 57.
Quincy Historical Society Records.
Quincy Patriot Ledger. 100th Anniversary. January 7. 1937, p. B-1, E-17.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The Beale-Rice is one of the grandest Federal residences in the city of Quincy. Its historical and architectural integrity merits it to be recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places not only for its antiquity and its excellent condition, but also as an fine example of a high style Federal residence of the 1790s which is still sited within its landscaped country setting complete with carriage house.

The residence has the archetypal five bay facade topped by a modillioned cornice and a balustrade serving to emphasize to desired horizontality of the period. Atop the low pitched hip roof is a monitor roof with three small windows which helped to light the low attic floor; two tall chimneys pierce the roof at the side. The house's pristine classical facade is framed by two large Doric pilasters on bases which articulate the corners; in the centre is a beautiful Federal door with a four-light transom and side lights which is protected by a beautiful Colonial Revival Ionic portico capped by a modillioned Greek pediment, reiterating the details of the eaves. The house is a significant factor in the Adams Street streetscape and a worthy neighbor to the historic Vassall-Adams House at 135 Adams Street.

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