House at 105 President's Lane
Why it's listed
Built in 1915 by Morton T. Swallow, this Colonial Revival house at 105 President's Lane sits at the edge of President's Hill and looks out over Quincy Center. It belongs to a neighborhood laid out in the 1890s after the Charles Francis Adams Estate was divided, and meant for affluent businessmen, civic leaders and Boston commuters. Nearby rail and street railway service helped the area develop through the late 1930s. The house takes the basic rectangular, hip-roofed form of the Federal period and enlarges it, adding freely adapted Georgian and Federal ornament. A five-bay facade becomes three bays, and borrowed classical features include a pedimented dormer, a roof balustrade, an elliptical fanlight in the central bay window and a Palladian window at the rear. It is counted among the best of the surviving examples of this style in Quincy, having avoided severe alterations. A 1930s garage at the rear does not contribute to its historic character.
Significance in brief: The house is one of the best preserved of several elaborate Colonial Revival houses built in the President's Hill area in the early twentieth century. It keeps its integrity of design, location, materials, feeling and association. It is also tied to the development of President's Hill as an elite residential area for affluent businessmen, civic leaders and Boston commuters.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 89001365, listed September 20, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 105 President's Ln., Quincy |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | September 20, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001365 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Morton T. Swallow (builder/original owner); architect unknown |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition described as good; in use as a single family dwelling with no major alterations; a 1930s two-car garage at the rear is noncontributing. |
| Acreage | 0.6 |
| Coordinates | 42.25313, -71.00791 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 89001365.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5913847
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.