{"nrhp_refnum":"94000036","name":"Smith, A. C., & Co. Gas Station","other_names":["Abdon Service Station"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"117 Beale St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Quincy","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.265069389000075,"lon":-71.02053903499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-02-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1926 brick commercial gas station at 117 Beale Street, in the Montclair neighborhood of North Quincy, Massachusetts, built for A. C. Smith & Co. and designed by the Quincy architects Batty and Gallagher.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it meets Criterion A as a product of Quincy's rapid growth in automobile ownership in the 1920s. It meets Criterion C as a fine, almost unaltered early modernistic station. Its plain 'oblong box' form and automobile-themed ornament mark the shift from 'domestic' to 'functional' station design, and it is one of the few remaining period gas stations in Quincy.","narrative":"Built in 1926 at the corner of Beale and Arlington Streets in North Quincy, this tan brick building was designed by local architects Batty and Gallagher for Albert C. Smith. It cost $16,000 and remains a working service station. The nearly square structure has a flat facade outlined in stretcher bricks, a low gable parapet, and decoration that points to its purpose: rondels with profiles of period cars, a winged wheel, and pineapple finials. Inside, three skylights light the service area, which has three pits. The building shows the move from home-like roadside stations of the 1920s toward the plain, functional boxes of the 1930s. It also reflects Quincy's surge in car ownership, with registrations rising 83 percent between 1924 and 1929. Its corner site suited drivers and commuters from the nearby railway stop. It is one of five early gas stations in the city and has had only three proprietors in its history, and it is one of few such stations of its era to survive largely unaltered.","period_of_significance":"1926-1938","architect_builder":"Batty and Gallagher (architects); Clark (Charles S. Clark) & Smith Inc. (contractors)","architectural_style":"Late 19th & Early 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still functioning as a neighborhood service station; described as almost unaltered, though the overhead bay doors date from the 1950s and some facade ornament differs from the original plans.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.512999-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/78/7924/63792478/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/94000036.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000036/347846a3da-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000036/347846a3da-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_C_Smith_and_Co_Gas_Station_Quincy_MA_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</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:A_C_Smith_and_Co_Gas_Station_Quincy_MA_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792478","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Smith_%26_Co._Gas_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4647626"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/smith-a-c-and-co-gas-station-94000036/"}