Quincy House

As Housing Day approaches, FlyBy will serve as your personal rating agency with a complete rundown by a resident of each House. Not that you have any say (River Gods notwithstanding), but at least you’ll know whether your portfolio is getting a downgrade.

Quincy House is the oft forgotten and underrated sibling in its neighborhood, as it tends to get overshadowed by its more ostentatious and overrated neighbors. How does this gem rate among FlyBy’s version of the 4 C's? Find out after the jump.

Location: So Flyby might have a slight bias toward Plympton Street, but the location is clearly ideal. It's a central hub between party venues on the river and the drudgery of the Yard.  Finals club groupies can rejoice—no matter which club you got crazy at last night, your walk of shame shan’t be too protracted. Quincy House also offers quick access to Tommy’s, which proves invaluable when you run out of mixers at 12:30 am.

Rooming: Confused. Quincy’s dormitories are built in contradicting styles: brick traditionalism on one side and concrete modernism on the other. Dewolfe offers an enticing option with its many amenities and proximity to Quincy, so residents can still actively participate in their House community, unlike the Kirklanders there. Otherwise, sophomores should be prepared to share cramped bedroom quarters, in exchange for a sizable common room. While the unattractive monolith that is New Quincy is often cited as the House’s greatest drawback, inside, juniors can get spacious singles with modest common rooms, and seniors can get massive common rooms complete with picture windows. In the days of party grants, Quincy was notorious for offering a host of possible party locales to the masses every weekend. The balcony suite, which combines two gigantic senior common rooms, is arguably one of the best spots to throw down on the river. Those who value aesthetics over room quality should still hope for Lowell or Adams, but the more pragmatic types should know Quincy rooming is superior.

Dining Hall: Revealed preferences. There's a reason everyone wants to eat in Quincy. Its proximity to the yard, sensible servery, and its bright and open feel make it one of the most popular dining spots on campus. The floor-to-ceiling windows satisfy naturalists and voyeurs alike. But severe overcrowding during peak hours, coupled with the unattractive and indecipherable mural (unlike Leverett, you actually can forget that its there), keep it from entering the dining hall pantheon with Dunster. Just a few weeks ago, the People’s House finally lowered the iron curtain, and purged the freshman from dining during lunch and dinner, reminiscent of Harvard President Josiah Quincy III’s, the House's namesake, suspension of the entire sophomore class. The People’s House pioneered the community dinner and trayless dining, and in true Trotsky form, has exported its radical agenda to other Houses. But as always, there’s nothing like the original: Community Dinners in Quincy are unparalleled, with delicacies such as alligator prepared by House Chef Diana, and Kopi Luwak, the most expensive coffee in the world. And need we even mention Quincy Grille?

House List: Quincy-open is about as unremarkable as its name. Many residents choose to receive the digest version of the list and some simply never sign up. On the subject of dining, however, Quincy is quite vocal. One of the most heated perennial debates concerns the House’s environmental dining policies (trayless dining induced numerous residents to produce fiery manifestos). In a recent exchange one resident went so far as to compare the packed dhall to a “refugee camp.” They must have temporarily confused Quincy with Leverett or the Gulag—unclear which.

House Masters: Lee and Deb Gehrke were formally installed as Quincy House Masters last year. Not only do they make it a point to join residents in the dining hall and at HoCo events, but they also open up their residence more often than most Masters. They live in a palatial penthouse suite atop New Quincy, complete with a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, RockBand, and a deck that spans half the length of the building, offering views of Cambridge and Boston only rivaled by Mather Tower. A true opiate of the masses—all Adamsian jealousy seeps from your mind upon experiencing the master suite.

House Culture: Although Old Quincy was once named Mather Hall and constituted part of Leverett House, today Quincy fosters a vibrant and unique House culture. During freshman week, the House puts on a Field Day in which the three classes compete against each other in epic contests of water balloon toss, pie eating, and tug of war, just to name a few. During the year HoCo and the Masters put on entertaining events like Iron Chef, Family Feud, pumpkin carving, and Assassins. The only notable black mark is the weak stein clubs, especially compared to Dunster’s epic happy hours: attendance is lower, alcohol is poorer in quality, and revelry is virtually non-existent.

The Rating: AAA*. Quincy’s default risk is as close to zero as any house. No matter what your persuasion, Quincy will satisfy. So if you get The People's House, just imagine all the people ...who wish they'd blocked with you.

*Ratings run as such: [AAA > AA > A > BBB > junk > subprime]