We have 5 amazing residences on this year's tour, some of which have never been viewed in previous years. You don’t want to miss this event and the opportunity to view these historic interiors and learn about the stories and past residents.
On Saturday, October 15, 2022, from 9AM to 3PM, Quincy Preserves will return with its annual “Behind Closed Doors” historic homes tour. This year will feature many never before toured homes throughout several historic neighborhoods. The varied architectural styles range from French Second Empire, Victorian, Craftsman, International and Neo Classical.
1469 Maine: Sewing machines, bicycles, and Roosevelt's Rough riders all are intertwined to this residence thru its original owners Drikus and Fannie Snitjer. They had this unique residence crafted in 1876 and their stories are waiting to be discovered inside this exquisite Second Empire style home built in 1876.
2336 Oak: This Art Moderne home designed by Charles Behrensmeyer is a rare style departure from contemporaries of this period. The minimal design and stark white façade distinguish it from its neighbors. The style influences are tied to industrial design of ships, airplanes, and automobiles and frequently referred to "streamline modern". All of these features and more make this residence feel contemporary despite being almost 90 years old.
601 Spring: This 19th century residence was built by prominent lumberman Albert S Merriam. Through the early 1900's the Meriam Mansion was one of Quincy's show places and was featured in hardback, bound promotional books published by the City of Quincy. Today the Victorian is a residence home to architecture enthusiasts who are bringing life and grandeur back into this historic structure.
921 Maple: This 1920s craftsman bungalow is a very common for this neighborhood, however the this home holds many surprises both historic and recent. Step inside this completely restored and modernized residence and discover the secrets and stories discovered within its walls.
1801 Maine: The prominent full-height porch supported by the ionic columns is a symbolic residence in the area. This corner of 18th and Maine has a storied history including relocating an previous structure via ice blocks to an adjacent lot. The neo-classical building was designed by George Behernsmeyer for George H. Dashwood. The residence has been occupied by only four families since the Dashwoods.
For more information, contact Quincy Preserves at [email protected].
The 44th annual Quincy Preserves Fall Home Tour on Saturday, October 19th will be one not to miss! The tour is supported 100% by your attendance and Quincy Preserves membership.
This six-location tour is another spectacular look into the diversity of Mansions to Mid Century architecture of the area. The list this starts with turn of the century homes such as the massive lemon-colored Queen Anne Henry Stahl House, a beautiful brick Victorian Park Place home, and a Victorian Vermont Street home also from the period. 1920’s era homes such as a grand buff brick Four Square and a Pebbledash Tudor are sleepers finished off by an easy living MidCentury.
300 S 18th
1452 Vermont
1237 Park Place
344 S 24th
1435 Ohio
3022 Lincoln Hill NE
Come see the architecture that embodies Quincy’s charm. Come to the Quincy Preserves Fall Homes Tour!
Online tickets can be picked up at the 1452 Vermont Street location.
The 43rd annual Quincy Preserves “Operation Restoration” Fall Home Tour will take place on Saturday, October 20th, from 10 am to 4 pm.
Two of the must-see homes will soon be restored to their original majesty and grandeur. These mansions that are “under transformation” have been recently purchased by dedicated historical architecture enthusiasts. They are investing their money, time, and talents to restore these treasures to the condition they deserve. This is your chance to witness the beginning stages of these historic flips.
The remaining three “renovated and restored” homes are wonderful examples of preserved, architectural treasures. These homes are perfect illustrations of how you can lead a comfortable, modern life in a historical landmark.
Not only will you get see the historic gems up close, but you will also get the chance to view classic cars on location at two of the selected homes.
See the architecture that embodies Quincy’s charm. Come to the Quincy Preserves Fall Home Tour!
Tickets are $20 the day of the tour and may be purchased at any of the tour locations (credit cards sales will take place at the 605 North 14th location only). Advance ticket sales are now closed. Patrons who have already purchased their online advance tickets may pick them up Saturday beginning at 9:30 am at the 605 North 14th location.
Tour proceeds give Quincy Preserves the funds needed to support The District Façade Program, Scholarships, and other sister preservation organization needs.
On Saturday, October 14, 2017, from 10 AM to 4 PM, Quincy Preserves will present its annual “Behind Closed Doors” historic homes tour. This year’s tour will feature six homes, including a bungalow with neoclassical details, a modified Cape Cod, a vernacular two-thirds double pile house, the Colonel Edward Prince House, an American Foursquare Style house, and the Walter and Rose Heidbreder House.
Tickets for the fall tour may be purchased in advance for $12 at the following locations: in Quincy: Arts Quincy (300 Civic Center Plaza), Kirlin’s Hallmark (Quincy Mall), Emerald City Jewelers (3236 Broadway), Quincy History Museum (332 Maine), and Adam Florist (522 S 8th) and in Hannibal: Dempsey and Dempsey (716 Broadway) and Java Jive (211 N Main). Tickets are available at each home the day of the tour for $15 each (credit cards accepted at 2332 York only).
319 Spruce Street: This bungalow with neoclassical details was built for R.M. Walter and Lillian Heidbreder in 1908. Its construction used “Quincy Dimension (or Quincy bed) Stone, known around the country and valued for its special roughness and its ability to be cut into irregular shapes. Few stone cutters today can hand drill the rock from its base and cut it freestyle. Thus, this house is irreplaceable.
432 North 20th Street: This two story variation of a Cape Code house is much later than the other on the Tour. The interior, however, is filled with primitive antiques and includes a reconstructed
log cabin as the breakfast room.
2531 Prentiss Avenue: Benjamin and Electa moved to the Quincy area in 1835, leaving behind their Connecticut jobs in the clock making business. Benjamin was a machinist who developed advanced clockwork mechanisms. Electa added ornamental painting to clock dials. At one time, Benjamin worked for Seth Thomas Clock Company.
1680 Maine Street: The Colonel Prince house is a rarity in construction, designed in one style, rebuilt in another, reconfigured at one time and restored in another. Harvey Chatten, the architect, designed the original Queen Anne style house and is thought also to be the designer of the Tudor Revival seen today.
2160 Maine Street: The Thomas and Anna Johnson House was built circa 1913 in the American Foursquare Style, popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. This style incorporates elements of the Prairie Style.
2332 York Street: The Walter and Rose Heidbreder House was designed by George Behrensmeyer, a noted Quincy architect, who was greatly influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s habit of designing a house close to the ground to make it appear as part of its surroundings. This design typified much of Behrensmeyer’s work in many ways.
Online ticket sales are now closed. You may purchase tickets at any of the tour locations for $15.
For more information, contact Quincy Preserves at [email protected].
On Saturday, October 15, 2016, from 10AM to 4PM, Quincy Preserves will present its annual “Behind Closed Doors” historic homes tour. This year will feature many homes, including a few in the so-called “Dick’s Brewery” neighborhood. Guests will be entertained by strolling musicians in the Park Place neighborhood while docents will narrate some of the history of the area. This year, Quincy Preserves is proud to be partnered with the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County to make this possible. Other homes feature unique styles & eras of architecture.
Tickets for the fall tour may be purchased the day of the tour at any of the homes for $15. Advance tickets sales are now closed.
Luther Memorial Church (12th & Jersey): Built in 1894 by architect Harvey Chatten, this Victorian Gothic Revival Church is known for its magnificent stained glass windows and stunning stonework. The roots of this church date back to 1891 and was the first English speaking Lutheran Church in Quincy – others were German-speaking only.
1269 Park Place: Previously known as the “Pink Lady”, the home was built in 1890 and has weathered many changes. Through its 125-year history, various owners altered its original beauty and craftsmanship. Now, with the love, time and money invested by recent owners, she is beginning to emerge again as an architectural treasure. Stunning stained glass windows, beaded banisters with hand spun spindles and hand carved accents are just a few of her remarkable items of note in her interior.
1224 Park Place: With six bedrooms, a gentleman’s parlor and room after room of detailed architectural finery, including a stained glass window above the dining room mantle, it is easy to see why the August and Anna Dorkenwald house was at one time the most expensive house on the block. The exterior offers special features such as the Greek Revival columns, massive lathe-turned balustrade, brick detailing around windows, decorative mullions on the upper story windows and zippered corners on the angular bay.
1254 Park Place: George Behrensmeyer designed this magnificent Craftsman/Prairie, tile-roofed home for the Frank Dick family, of Quincy’s Dick’s Brewery. The massive home is graced by battered piers at the entry, copper decorative gutters and dressed limestone lintels. Only three families have lived in this home and it still sports its hand painted walls and original light fixtures and well-preserved oak and birch trim and unique stained glass windows.
1253 Park Place: John Batchey put his mark on all aspects of this elegant High Queen Anne home built in 1894 for John and Emelie Meyer. Inside and out, every surface offers the special touch of an architect designed home. The entry area offers one-of-a-kind staircase and a lavish spandrel leading to the parlor. Meyer was with Halbrich Schroeder Dry Goods when he built this brick home. In 1910 he started his own highly successful store .
1269 Kentucky: This 1891 High Queen Ann style home reflects the wealth of the owner of the Gunther Hardware Company, Robert Gunther. Stained glass, carved oak doors, oak, maple, walnut, cherry and butternut woods throughout and a grand display of special door and window hardware
2409 Country Club Drive South: This jewel of a mid-century modern home was built in 1947 by Quincy’s architect John Benya. The original cost of $35,000 included innovative features of glass support walls, heated cork, quarry tile floors and partition-less office space. The desire to bring the “outdoors in” is reflected in multiple sites for growing plants out of the floor. The patio and yard house stone that was salvaged from the tornado ravished St. Peters Church from the 1940’s.
1431 Spring: An 1879 cottage that “hugs you from the moment you step inside”. Built as the owners’ Victorian suburban haven, there are porches, bays, gables adorned with decorative vergeboards, ornamental ironwork from roof deck to ridges and so much more. And the rear building to the east that was a shoe factory…..it’s a real tour surprise!
For more information, contact Quincy Preserves at [email protected].