To spot the S.J. Lesem Building, look on your left for a tall, brick building with white decorative window frames, corner accents, and a big yellow awning marking the entrance right up at the street corner.
Let’s have some fun with a little time travel. Imagine it’s 1871-horses clop along the street, and busy folks in top hats and long skirts hurry past this very building, freshly erected for the Lesem Brothers’ booming dry goods business. The block buzzed with trade as Wholesale Row, but now, only this building stands, a sort of “last survivor” of four proud neighbors. The S.J. Lesem Building is pretty stylish, right? Those arched windows and iron columns weren’t just for show-they shouted to Quincy’s shoppers: ‘You’re in for some serious business!’ After S.J. Lesem & Co. moved out, things got a bit… spooky, perhaps? The Quincy Casket Company moved in, making this place home for coffins and maybe an occasional creaky floorboard or two, from 1912 all the way to 1977. With its robust brick pilasters, white-capped windows, and an iron-crowned cornice, the building has watched fashions (and fortunes) rise and fall. Now, it’s more than a part of local trivia-it’s officially on the National Register of Historic Places, proof that Quincy knows how to respect style and a good story, no matter how many lives a building’s led.
