House at 20 Sterling Street
Why it's listed
Built in 1911 for Henry J. Grass at a cost of $4,500, this two-family house at 20 Sterling Street sits on a corner lot in Quincy's Montclair neighborhood. Grass was an active carpenter and developer who built several houses in the area and helped subdivide Montclair. The house is a Colonial Revival interpretation of the American Four-Square form, a popular choice for two-family dwellings in North Quincy during the 1910s. It has a granite foundation, clapboard walls, a hip roof with wide overhang and hip dormers, and two-story angular bay windows on the front and side. A balustraded porch with four columns over a latticed base fronts the house, and the door has sidelights. Windows are one-over-one sash. A 1920s two-car garage at the rear does not contribute. The property is regarded as one of the best preserved examples of its type and reflects the suburban growth that followed railway expansion in the area.
Significance in brief: The house is among the best preserved of several American Four-Square houses built as two-family residences in Quincy in the 1910s. It reflects the early twentieth-century residential subdivision of North Quincy farmland. It is considered significant at the local level under Criteria A and C.
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 89001377, listed September 20, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 20 Sterling St., Quincy |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | September 20, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001377 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; built for Henry J. Grass, a carpenter and developer |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival - American Four-Square |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is described as good; present use is a two-family dwelling, with no major alterations. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 42.27191, -71.03628 (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 89001377.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5914104
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.