Lennon, Edward J., House
Why it's listed
Built around 1888 at 53 Taber Street in Southwest Quincy, this Queen Anne cottage was constructed for Edward J. Lennon, an inspector for the Board of Health. His family kept the property until after 1923. The house sits on land once known as Captain's Plain, later held by the Adams family, whose heirs subdivided it into streets and house lots around Taber and Liberty streets and the small park called Liberty Square. The cottage has a gable-end facade, decorative truss work at the projecting roof end, a gable filled with shingles of varied shapes, and a porch with thin turned posts and small brackets. These features match a pattern-book design of the period. It is the best preserved of two identical houses facing each other across the square, and the only local example to keep all its original decoration. It has had no major alterations and remains a single-family home in good condition.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the best preserved example of a modest Queen Anne residence once common in south and west Quincy. It is the only one of several similar local houses to keep all its original decorative detail, and it retains integrity of design, materials and setting.
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 89001378, listed September 20, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 53 Taber St., Quincy |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | September 20, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001378 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Recorded in good condition, with no major alterations and still used as a single-family dwelling. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.23678, -71.01079 (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 89001378.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5343658
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.