{"nrhp_refnum":"70000734","name":"United First Parish Church (Unitarian) of Quincy","other_names":["Stone Temple","Church of the Presidents"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1266 Hancock St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Quincy","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.25102044750005,"lon":-71.0030033029352,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-12-30","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1970-12-30","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Greek Revival granite church at 1266 Hancock Street in Quincy, Massachusetts, designed by Alexander Parris and built in 1827-28. It is also known as the Stone Temple and the Church of the Presidents.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it probably Parris's masterpiece of church design and probably the finest surviving Greek Revival church in New England. Its use of Quincy granite and four huge monolithic columns was an early, major demonstration of granite's monumental possibilities. It also holds the tombs of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams and their wives.","narrative":"Built in 1827-28 of Quincy blue granite, this two-story church on Hancock Street in Quincy was designed by architect-engineer Alexander Parris. Its west front has a pedimented portico carried by four monolithic Doric columns, each about 25 feet tall and weighing roughly 25 tons; hauling each from the quarry took thirty-five yoke of oxen. A two-stage stone tower with a clock and an open wooden cupola rises above the portico. Inside, galleries wrap three sides of a roughly 70-foot-square auditorium, topped by a decorated plaster dome. John Quincy Adams paid for the construction except for the columns. The crypt beneath the vestibule holds Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams and their wives. The only exterior change is a one-story stone wing added at the rear in 1889. The nomination describes the church as probably the finest surviving Greek Revival church in New England, and as an early, major use of granite for monumental building.","period_of_significance":"1827-28","architect_builder":"Alexander Parris","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition, still used for religious services, and open to visitors.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:55.041864-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/93/7937/63793793/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/70000734_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000734/c44c1df7eb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000734/c44c1df7eb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daderot at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_First_Parish_Church_(exterior),_Quincy,_Massachusetts.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_First_Parish_Church_(exterior),_Quincy,_Massachusetts.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793793","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_First_Parish_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7212319"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/united-first-parish-church-unitarian-of-quincy-70000734/"}