Another One Bites the Dust: North Adams House Torn Down
Old Quincy St. Boarding
House Demolished
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Neighbors along Quincy Street were awakened Wednesday morning to the sounds of destruction.
A backhoe was methodically demolishing the house at 74 Quincy St., turning the former boardinghouse into a pile of splinters and trash within a few hours.
The Victorian has been among those in the last few years that have been targeted by the city as a blight on their neighborhoods. It was taken by the city in August 2008 for back taxes.
Daniel Connerton, a resident of Quincy Street and former chairman of the North Adams Historic Commission, said the building had once been a boarding house for young women who worked in the local mills.
The house had more than a dozen suites and single rooms, and Victorian stylings such as fireplaces, built-in wardrobes, marble sinks and woodwork, said another neighbor. The house has been empty for some time but had been carved into apartments.
It was owned by Glenn E. Johansson, Trustee of 74 Quincy Street Realty Trust. Johansson had purchased the apartment building in 1985 for $62,500 from John and Virginia Beck; the realty trust was created in 1998. Johansson also owns other property in the Quincy and Church Street area.
Three years of back taxes were owed on the property and total liens came to $8,776.84 according to documents in the Northern Berkshire Registry of Deeds when it was taken a year ago.
Thanks to Gabriella Bond for sharing her memories of the house below. Anyone else have stories to tell?
