Elks Building (Quincy, Massachusetts) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Elks Building
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1218-1222 Hancock St., Quincy, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 0.3 acres (0.12 ha) |
| Built | 1924 |
| Architect | J. Williams Beal, Sons |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| MPS | Quincy MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 89001348 |
| Added to NRHP | September 20, 1989 |
The Elks Building is a cool old building in Quincy, Massachusetts. You can find it at 1218-1222 Hancock Street. This building was designed by a company called J. Williams Beal, Sons. It was built a long time ago, in 1924. It's a special example of Colonial Revival style architecture. In 1989, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical landmark.
Discovering the Elks Building
The Elks Building stands on the east side of Hancock Street. This street is a main road in downtown Quincy. The building has three stories and is made of brick. It also has fancy limestone decorations.
What the Building Looks Like
The first floor has shops with limestone fronts. In the middle, there's an entrance set back from the street. This entrance has tall, round columns called Doric columns. Above the entrance, there's a cool railing made of wrought iron.
The second floor has four windows with rounded tops. These windows have limestone sills and special top stones called keystones. In the center, there's a big, fancy Palladian window. This type of window has a large arched window in the middle, with smaller rectangular windows on each side.
The third floor is separated by a limestone band. It has ten smaller windows, usually grouped in pairs. Above these windows, there's a decorative ledge. On top of the building, you can see a wooden fence-like structure called a balustrade.
A Look at the Elks' History
The local Elks group was started in 1905. It was formed by business people from the area. At first, they met in different halls around the city. Their very first own building was built in 1907 on Foster Street.
In the 1910s, the city of Quincy started a big project. They wanted to improve the downtown area. As part of this plan, many old wooden buildings on Hancock Street were taken down. The Elks group then had this new building constructed in 1924.
The building was designed by J. Williams Beal, Sons. This was a local architecture company. They designed several other important buildings in Quincy. These include the Granite Trust Company and the Bethany Congregational Church. In the 1980s, the Elks Building was fixed up. Its shop fronts were made to look like they did when the building was first built.
