Quincy Police Station
Why it's listed
Built in 1925 at a cost of $75,000, the police station at 442 Southern Artery in Quincy was the city's first building constructed specifically for its police force. Before it opened, officers worked from an 1829 school building on School Street, since demolished. The department itself traces to ordinances passed in 1889 and 1892, which created the force of a salaried chief and patrolmen. The three-story yellow brick building rises from a high concrete basement and is topped by a plain cornice and a shaped parapet bearing the Quincy seal in a pedimented center section. Two side entrances have Greek pediments and pilasters, and giant pilasters between the windows give the facade a vertical emphasis. The local firm Clark, Batty and Gallagher designed it, and William R. Lofgren served as builder. It sits among a complex of city buildings at Southern Artery and Quincy Shore Drive, and its listing recognizes both its municipal history and its simple Classical Revival design.
Significance in brief: It was Quincy's first building erected specifically to house the municipal police force and reflects the expansion of municipal services in the 1920s and 1930s. It is also a fine example of a simple Classical Revival public building. Reviewers accepted it as a locally important building 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 89001373, listed March 8, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 442 Southern Artery, Quincy |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | March 8, 1990 |
| Reference number | 89001373 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect: Clark, Batty and Gallagher; builder: William R. Lofgren |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| 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; described as the present police station. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.25596, -70.99576 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 89001373.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7272173
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.