{"nrhp_refnum":"86001217","name":"US Post Office-Quincy Main","other_names":["Quincy Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"47 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Quincy","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.25085441600004,"lon":-71.00178102299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-05-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Classical Revival post office at 47 Washington Street, Quincy, Massachusetts, built of Indiana limestone and completed in 1909, then enlarged and renovated in 1933. It sits within the Quincy Center Historic District.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is architecturally significant as a product of the office of Treasury Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor, reflecting early 1900s federal design policy. Its relationship to H.H. Richardson's Romanesque Crane Library across the street illustrates national trends in American architecture. The 1933 renovation also provided jobs for Quincy's unemployed during the Depression.","narrative":"Quincy's main post office on Washington Street is a monumental Classical Revival building faced in Indiana limestone on a granite base. Construction began in October 1907 and the building opened on February 28, 1909, designed in the office of Treasury Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor. Across the street stands H.H. Richardson's Romanesque Crane Library, and the two buildings contrast restrained, symmetrical classicism with irregular, richly textured Romanesque design. In 1933 the interior was gutted, a large rear workroom and a second floor were added, and federal offices moved upstairs. The $240,000 project gave work to local unemployed people during the Depression. Original features included hidden passageways for watching postal clerks, and the lobby retains Louisiana marble and a decorated cornice. In 1982 the building was named for Congressman James A. Burke, who kept offices on the second floor. The building remains in excellent condition and in postal use.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"James Knox Taylor, Architect","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition; the building houses the Quincy Main Post Office.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.954406-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/7962/63796208/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001217.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001217/550e5a3e4f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001217/550e5a3e4f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sswonk","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quincy_MA_Main_Post_Office.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Sswonk</a>, <a href=\"https://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:Quincy_MA_Main_Post_Office.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796208","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office%E2%80%93Quincy_Main","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891170"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/us-post-office-quincy-main-86001217/"}