Pinkham House
Why it's listed
Built around the 1870s at 79 Winthrop Avenue in Quincy, this clapboard house is a fine example of Second Empire design and one of the earliest homes in the Wollaston Heights neighborhood. It was built by George F. Pinkham, manager of Wollaston Land Associates and the person most responsible for developing the area. The Associates bought a 300-acre farm tract in 1869 and marketed lots to affluent Quincy businessmen and Boston commuters, offering buyers free three-year Old Colony Railroad passes. The L-shaped house has a concave mansard roof with decorated dormers, two-story bay windows with paneled bases and dentiled cornices, large corner quoins, double eave brackets, and a bracketed entry porch with a balustrade. It has had no major alterations and is considered the best preserved of several elaborate Second Empire residences in Quincy. It is also the only intact house associated with the Pinkham family. A rear two-car garage does not contribute to its historic character.
Significance in brief: It is described as the best surviving example of an elaborate Second Empire house in Quincy and one of the earliest houses in Wollaston Heights. It was built by the manager of Wollaston Land Associates, who was most responsible for developing the neighborhood. It is the only intact house associated with the Pinkham family that survives.
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 89001384, listed September 20, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 79 Winthrop Ave., Quincy |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | September 20, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001384 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | George F. Pinkham (builder); architect unknown |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as fair; no major alterations; still used as a single-family dwelling, with a noncontributing two-car garage (1920) at the rear. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.26122, -71.01932 (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 89001384.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14715818
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.