Built in stages between 1880 and 1890, it is a distinctive example of Jacobethan architecture, and is one of city's oldest commercial buildings.

[1] The Adams Building is located in downtown Quincy, roughly across Hancock Street from the United First Parish Church.

It has an irregular facade characterized by the repetition of a variety of elements, including large gable wall dormers, polygonal bays, and patterns in the half-timbering.

Its designer, J. Williams Beal, was a prominent Boston architect with a number of local commissions.

The building is locally unusual as an example of Jacobethan architecture, a variant on the Tudor Revival.