Quincy

City of Quincy
City Hall in Quincy Center
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", "Birthplace of the American Dream"
Location in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°15′10″N 71°00′10″W / 42.25278°N 71.00278°W / 42.25278; -71.00278Coordinates: 42°15′10″N 71°00′10″W / 42.25278°N 71.00278°W / 42.25278; -71.00278
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Norfolk
Settled	1625
Incorporated	1792
Government
- Type	Mayor-council
- Mayor	Thomas P. Koch
Area
- Total	26.9 sq mi (69.6 km2)
- Land	16.8 sq mi (43.5 km2)
- Water	10.1 sq mi (26.2 km2)
Elevation	20 ft (6 m)
Highest elevation	517 ft (158 m)
Lowest elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Population (2008)[1]
- Total	92,339
- Density	5,496.4/sq mi (2,123.1/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	02169, 02170, 02171
Area code(s)	617 / 857
FIPS code	25-55745
GNIS feature ID	0617701
Website	www.quincyma.gov

Quincy (pronounced /ˈkwɪnzi/) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream".^[2] As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).^[3] Its estimated population in 2008 was 92,339, making it the 7th largest city in the state.^[1]

Quincy is named for Colonel John Quincy, maternal grandfather of Abigail Adams and after whom John Quincy Adams was also named.^[4] The name of the city is correctly pronounced KWIN-zee, following the family's pronunciation, though it is often mispronounced outside the region as KWIN-see.^[5] Quincy is the birthplace of former U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, as well as statesman John Hancock, fourth and longest serving President of the Continental Congress.

History

The Wollaston neighborhood is the oldest part of Quincy, first settled by English immigrants in 1625 as Mount Wollaston and renamed Merrymount. Quincy itself later became part of Braintree, was officially incorporated as a separate town in 1792, and was made a city in 1888.

Among the city's several firsts was the Granite Railway, the first commercial railroad in the United States. It was constructed in 1826 to carry granite from a Quincy quarry to the Neponset River in Milton so that the stone could then be taken by boat to erect the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Quincy granite became famous throughout the nation, and stonecutting became the city's principal economic activity. Quincy was also home to the first iron furnace in the United States, the John Winthrop, Jr. (or Braintree) Iron Furnace, from 1644 to 1653.

Quincy was additionally important as a shipbuilding center. Sailing ships were built in Quincy for many years, including the only seven-masted schooner ever built, Thomas W. Lawson. The Fore River area became a shipbuilding center in the 1880s—originally owned by Thomas A. Watson of telephone fame—and many famous warships were built at the Fore River Shipyard, including the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2); the battleships USS Massachusetts (BB-59), now preserved as a museum ship at Battleship Cove in Massachusetts, and USS Nevada (BB-36); and the USS Salem (CA-139), the world's last all-gun heavy warship, which is still preserved at Fore River as the main exhibit of the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum. John J. Kilroy, the originator of the famous Kilroy Was Here graffiti, was a welding inspector at Fore River.

Quincy was also an aviation pioneer thanks to Dennison Field. Located in the Squantum section of town it was one of the world's first airports and was partially developed by Amelia Earhart. In 1910, it was the site of the Harvard Aero Meet, the second air show in America. It was later leased to the Navy for an airfield, and served as a reserve Squantum Naval Air Station into the 1950s.

In the 1870s, the city gave its name to the Quincy Method, an influential approach to education developed by Francis W. Parker while he served as Quincy's superintendent of schools. Parker, an early proponent of progressive education, put his ideas into practice in the city's underperforming schools; four years later, a state survey found that Quincy's students were excelling.^[6]

Of some note, Howard Johnson's and Dunkin Donuts were founded and started in Quincy, and the celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys got its start in Wollaston. The Quincy Mine in Hancock, Michigan, founded in 1846, was named after Quincy because the mine started with significant investment from Massachusetts.

Quincy is also home to the United States' longest running Flag Day Parade, a tradition that began in 1952 under then-Mayor Richard Koch.^[7]

Geography

Quincy and surrounding area showing elevations and features

Quincy shares borders with Boston to the north (separated by the Neponset River), Milton to the west, Randolph and Braintree to the south, and Weymouth (separated by the Fore River) and Hull (maritime border between Quincy Bay and Hingham Bay) to the east. Historically, even when it was called "Mount Wollaston" and when it was the "North Precinct" of Braintree, Quincy roughly began at the Neponset River in the north and ended at the Fore River in the south.

Quincy Bay, part of Quincy to the northeast, is part of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. There are several beaches in Quincy,^[8] including Wollaston Beach along Quincy Shore Drive. Located on the western shore of Quincy Bay, Wollaston Beach is the largest Boston Harbor beach.^[9]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.9 square miles (70 km²), of which 16.8 square miles (44 km²) are land and 10.1 square miles (26 km²) are water. The total area is 37.60% water.

Although Quincy is primarily urban, 2,485 acres (3.9 sq mi; 10.1 km²)^[10] or fully 23 percent of its land area lies within the uninhabited Blue Hills Reservation, a state park managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. This undeveloped natural area encompasses the southwestern portion of Quincy and includes the city's highest point, 517 foot (158 m) Chickatawbut Hill.

Demographics

As of the census^[14] of 2000, there were 88,025 people, 38,883 households, and 20,530 families residing in the city, making it the ninth largest city in the state. The population density was 5,244.3 people per square mile (2,025.4/km²). There were 40,093 housing units at an average density of 2,388.7/sq mi (922.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.60% White, 2.21% African American, 0.16% Native American, 15.39% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.08% of the population. 33.5% were of Irish, 12.7% Italian and 5.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 77.1% spoke English, 8.0% Chinese or Mandarin, 2.6% Cantonese, 1.9% Spanish, 1.5% Vietnamese and 1.3% Italian as their first language.

There were 38,883 households, out of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.2% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 17.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 36.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,121, and the median income for a family was $59,735. Males had a median income of $40,720 versus $34,238 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,001. About 5.2% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Neighborhoods

Map of Quincy neighborhoods

Quincy is divided into numerous neighborhoods with individual histories and characteristics.^[15]

• Adams Shore was originally developed as a summer resort location and is now a year-round residential area.
• Germantown was the site of a former planned manufacturing community begun in the 1750s to encourage German immigration and is now a residential neighborhood.
• Hough's Neck is a northeastern peninsular community named for Atherton Hough, who was granted the land in 1636 for use as a farm and orchard.
• Marina Bay is a residential-commercial area developed in the 1980s on the site of the closed Naval Air Station Squantum with high-rise condominiums, restaurants and a large marina.
• Merrymount is a primarily residential neighborhood and the site of Quincy's initial settlement.
• Montclair is the northwestern section of the city along West Squantum Street, bordering the town of Milton.
• North Quincy is a residential and commercial neighborhood along Hancock Street and Quincy Shore Drive that includes a substantial Asian population.
• Quincy Center is the commercial and government center of the city where City Hall, Thomas Crane Public Library, the Old Stone Church and numerous office buildings and residential streets can be found.
• Quincy Point is a densely populated residential area east of Quincy Center, with commercial areas along Quincy Avenue and Southern Artery, that is also the site of the Fore River Shipyard.
• South Quincy is a residential area bordering the town of Braintree that includes Crown Colony office park and Faxon Park, a wooded 66-acre (0.27 km²) protected space.
• Squantum in the peninsular northernmost part of Quincy grew from being a summer resort adjacent to an early airfield into a year-round residential neighborhood.
• West Quincy is a residential and commercial section with immediate access to Interstate 93 and the site of several former granite quarries, now the Quincy Quarries Reservation, and the Granite Railway, first commercial railway in the United States.
• Wollaston, named for Captain Richard Wollaston, the leader of Quincy's original settlers, was an early rail-accessed commuter home for Boston workers that is now a densely populated residential and commercial area and site of Eastern Nazarene College.

Education

Munro Hall on the Eastern Nazarene College main campus

Quincy is home to various educational institutions, public and private, including one early childhood education center, one Montessori school, three Catholic schools, one college preparatory school, one college of the liberal arts and sciences, one community college, two public high schools, five public middle schools, and 12 public elementary schools. Public education at the primary and secondary levels is managed by Quincy Public Schools.^[16] In the 19th century, the city became an innovator in progressive public education with the Quincy Method, developed by Francis W. Parker while he served as Quincy's superintendent of schools. Four years after its implementation, a state survey found that Quincy students excelled at reading, writing, and spelling, and ranked fourth in their county in math.^[17]

Early childhood education

• Campus Kinder Haus (CKH), operated by the Eastern Nazarene College on its Old Colony campus^[18]

Montessori

• Montessori School of Quincy, for children of preschool through elementary school age^[19]

Catholic

Quincy's three Catholic schools are each pre-kindergarten through grade 8:

• Sacred Heart School^[20]
• St. Ann School^[21]
• St. Mary School^[22]

College preparatory

• Woodward School for Girls, a non-sectarian college preparatory day school for girls in grades 6-12^[23]

Higher education

• Eastern Nazarene College, a college of the liberal arts and sciences in Wollaston Park
• Quincy College, a community college in Quincy Center

Public high schools

• North Quincy High School
• Quincy High School

Public middle schools

• Atlantic
• Broad Meadows
• Central Middle School
• Point Webster
• Sterling

Public elementary schools

Transportation

City of Presidents banner at the Fore River Rotary

Quincy Center as seen from the intersection of Adams Street and Hancock Street.

Because Quincy is part of Metro Boston, it has easy access to transportation facilities. State highways and the Interstate system connect the Greater Boston area to the airport, port, and intermodal facilities of Boston. Due to its proximity to Boston proper, Quincy is connected not only by these modes of transportation but also to the regional subway system, operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), known locally as "The T".

Airport

Boston's Logan International Airport is accessible via MBTA Red Line connections at South Station, directly on the MBTA commuter boat (see below) or by motor vehicle using Interstate 93 or surface roads to the Ted Williams Tunnel.

Highways and roads

Interstate 93 and U.S. Route 1 travel south to north concurrently through Quincy beginning in the southwest, where the Quincy–Randolph border bisects the median between the northern and southern halves of the Exit 5 cloverleaf at Massachusetts Route 28. Following a route around the southern extent of the Blue Hills Reservation, this I-93 and US 1 alignment is along the former southern section of Route 128. The highway travels along a wooded wetland region of the Reservation, entering Quincy completely just beyond Exit 5 and then crossing into Braintree as it approaches the Braintree Split, the junction with Massachusetts Route 3. Weekday traffic volume averages 250,000 to 275,000 vehicles per day at this intersection, the gateway from Boston and its inner core to the South Shore and Cape Cod.^[24]

As Route 3 joins I-93 and US 1 at the Braintree Split, the three travel north together toward Boston around the eastern extent of the Blue Hills Reservation, entering West Quincy as the Southeast Expressway. The expressway provides access to West Quincy at Exit 8 – Furnace Brook Parkway and Exit 9 – Bryant Avenue/Adams Street before entering Milton. The Furnace Brook Parkway exit also provides access to Ricciuti Drive and the Quincy Quarries Reservation as well as the eastern entrance to the Blue Hills Reservation Parkways.

Principal numbered state highways traveling within Quincy include: Route 3A south to north from Weymouth via Washington Street, Southern Artery, Merrymount Parkway and Hancock Street to the Neponset River Bridge and the Dorchester section of Boston; Route 28, which travels south to north from Randolph to Milton along Randolph Avenue in Quincy through a remote section of the Blue Hills Reservation; and Route 53, which enters traveling south to north from Braintree as Quincy Avenue, turning right to form the beginning of Southern Artery in Quincy Point before ending at the intersection with Washington Street/Route 3A.

In addition to the Blue Hills parkways, Quincy includes two other Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation parkways. Furnace Brook Parkway travels east from I-93 through the center of the city from West Quincy to Quincy Center and Merrymount at Quincy Bay. There the parkway meets Quincy Shore Drive at the mouth of Blacks Creek. Quincy Shore Drive travels along the shore of Quincy Bay north then through North Quincy to Hancock Street at the Neponset River Bridge, with much of its length abutting Wollaston Beach.

Hancock Street begins at the southern extent of Quincy Center and travels north to Dorchester as a main commercial thoroughfare of Quincy Center, Wollaston and North Quincy. Along with Quincy Avenue and Southern Artery, other heavily traveled streets include Norfolk Avenue, which parallels Hancock Street to the west on the opposite side of the MBTA railway, Adams Street heading west from Quincy Center to Milton, and East and West Squantum Streets in the Montclair and North Quincy neighborhoods. Other important streets are discussed in several of the neighborhood articles listed above.

MBTA rail and other commuter services

Subway service is available on the Red Line of the MBTA from four stations in Quincy: North Quincy, Wollaston, Quincy Center, and Quincy Adams. Commuter rail service operates out of Quincy Center. Both services serve South Station in Boston with connections to MBTA Commuter Rail and Amtrak intercity lines. Buses are also available for transportation in Quincy, including private bus lines and several lines provided by the MBTA. Most of the MBTA routes funnel through the Quincy Center station, which is the principal hub south of Boston for all MBTA bus lines. The southern bus garage for the MBTA system is adjacent to the Quincy Armory on Hancock Street in Quincy Center.

Quincy is a major terminal for the commuter boat system that crosses Boston Harbor to Long Wharf, Hull, Rowe's Wharf, Hingham, and Logan Airport. The commuter boats, operated by Harbor Express under license by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, dock at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy Point.^[25]

Sports

Quincy has had brief flirtations with professional sports. The Quincy Chiefs of the minor league Eastern Basketball Association (the predecessor to the current Continental Basketball Association) played a single season in 1977-78, and was coached and managed by current Boston Celtics executive Leo Papile. The Chiefs finished 12-19 in third place, and lost in the playoffs to eventual league champion Wilkes-Barre. Quincy's professional baseball team, the Shipbuilders, competed in the New England League in 1933, recording a 12-6 record before moving to Nashua midseason. The final season of the Boston Minutemen of the North American Soccer League was played at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, in 1976, finishing 7-17.

Quincy's only college sports program is the "Lions" of Eastern Nazarene College, in the DIII Commonwealth Coast Conference of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Games are played at Bradley Field and the Lahue Physical Education Center on-campus, or at Adams and Veterans Memorial Fields in Quincy.

Quincy's high school sports programs are in the Patriot League:^[26] the DIII Fisher Division "Red Raiders" of North Quincy High School and their rivals, the DIIA Keenan Division "Presidents" of Quincy High School. Quincy also hosted the youth baseball Babe Ruth League World Series in 2003, 2005 and 2008. High school baseball and Babe Ruth League games are played at Adams Field. High school football is played at Veterans Memorial Field.

Notable residents

See also

• Quincy (disambiguation)
• Quincy Mansion
• Quincy Mosque

Gallery

President John Adams' birthplace.	The "Peacefield", residence of four generations of Adams in Wollaston.	The Josiah Quincy House in Wollaston Park.	Tombs of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams and their wives, in a family crypt beneath the United First Parish Church in Quincy Center.	Canterbury Hall (1901) on the main campus of Eastern Nazarene College in Wollaston Park, originally called "the Canterbury".
Entrance to the Adams Executive Center at the Eastern Nazarene College Old Colony campus in Wollaston, formerly the Howard Johnson's candy factory and executive offices.	The Squantum Yacht Club along Quincy Shore Drive and Wollaston Beach in the Wollaston Park neighborhood.	View of Squantum across Quincy Bay from Wollaston Beach.	View of Marina Bay and Boston across Quincy Bay from Wollaston Beach.	The USS Salem, site of the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum.

References

Further reading

• Browne, Patricia Harrigan, Quincy - A Past Carved in Stone, Images of America Series, Arcadia Publishing, July 1996, ISBN 0-7524-0299-4
• Pattee, William S., A History of Old Braintree and Quincy: With a Sketch of Randolph and Holbrook, Green & Prescott, 1879, ISBN 978-1436733212 (at Google Books)

External links

• Official Webpage
• Discover Quincy - Quincy tourism information
• Quincy Access Television - Channels 8 & 10

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