Quincy, Mass. Historical and Architectural Survey

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Atlantic neihborhood in north Quincy is bordered by the Neponset River to the North and Quincy Bay to the East. It was once par of Dorchester and with the Old North Precinct that had split off from Braintree, became part of the Town of Quincy in 1792. The Jockey Club of Boston set up the first mile track course in the state in 1812 in a section of Atlantic known as Billings Plains and less then one hundred years later the track was filled in with new homes. Like it's neighbors, Montclair and Wollaston, most of the community of Atlantic was built in the first third of the 20th century. From colonial time until the Civil War North Quincy was referred to as "the Farms" and it was the large Newbury, Wilson, Billings' and Glover farms that were split up for residences by real estate developers David H. MacKay, Henry Hunt; Maurice E. Kilpatrick, John E. Poland, Henry J. Grass and Charles M. Conant, Henry Blackwell, and Walter Webb. The development process was greatly accelerated by the old Colony Railroad which began operations in 1845, eventually establishing stations in Atlantic, Norfolk Downs (the southern section of Atlantic), and Wollaston as well as by the adbent of Quincy's extensive street railway system. This interestin house was built by mabel McQuade Winsloe, treasurer of the Wollastion Center Garage, at the completion time of Quincy Shore Drive in 1919. Sited on an unusually large lot, the $5000 house was constructed by local architect-carpenter-builder Peter Swanson. In 1907 the land for 561 Quincy Shore Drive wa included in a 30 acre tract of land owned by the heirs of John A. Billings, prominent citizens and farmers in the Atlantic area. In 1897 the land was part of the large Howe estate.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Assessors Records. Quincy CityAtlases and Directories. H. Hobart holly, Quincy Historical Society. H. Hobart Holly, ed. Quincy: 350 Years, 1974, p. 4. Metropolitan District Commission records. William S. Pattee. A history of Old Braintree and Quincy, 1878, p. 55. John Ramsdell. "Historic North Quincy". [Written about 1934] Typed manuscript at Quincy Historical Society.

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The "Prairie Bungalow" Style, a Cambridge Historical Commission label describes residences built in the early 20th century which espouses elements from both the California based Bungalow Style and the Middle West based Prairie Style. Architects of both styles sought to escape from the historicism of the past and the emphasis on classicism; there were interested in building simpler and more functional houses which also reflected the climatic conditions of their respective areas. The California Bungalow is characterized by a low pitched gable roof with a shed dormer and covered veranda while the Prairie type house was a predominantly horizontal appearance which relates to the rolling prairies. Materials used include stucco, contrasted with dark wood trim, cobblestones for foundations and chimneys and wood left in its natural state. The residence at 561 Quincy Shore Drive is a fine Prairie-Bungalow house with an unusual wall covering, a facing of smooth pebbles evoking the beaches of the New England coast. It was a low pitch hip roof which emphasizes the houses's horizontality and bands of windows of Prairie style houses. The facade is composed of two bay windows and a chimney faced with pebbles. The pebble motif is further carried out in the landscaping of the front where there are short pebble retaining walls. Bungalow style, the porch is an integral part of the house, sited until the end of the front slope of the roof. It is an attractive and picturesque component of the Quincy Shore Drive streetscape.

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