pplicable National Register Criteri or Nacironal Register istihoyes for the criteria qualiting the propert, A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.
Essex County, MA County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION Period of Significance 1931-1961 Significant Dates 1931 - construction and opening Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply) Property is: Owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes. B removed from its original location. C a birthplace or grave. D a cemetery. E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. F a commemorative property. G less than 50 years old or achieving significance within the past 50 years. Significant Person (Complete only if Criterion B is marked above) Cultural Affiliation Architect/Builder M. Joseph G. Morissette, architect Stephen D'Urso and Son, Inc., builders Period of Significance (justification) The period of significance for the former Saunders School extends from 1931, when it was constructed, to 1961.
The building functioned as a school from the time of its construction through 2006; thus, the fifty-year cutoff (1961) is used as the closing date for the period of significance. Criteria Considerations (explanation, if necessary) N/A 6 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance and applicable criteria) The Daniel Saunders School (Saunders School) is significant at the local level under National Register Criterion A for its historical association with the development of Lawrence MA, as reflected in the education of its children, in the twentieth century. Tremendous population growth occurred during the last decades of the 19"h and early decades of the 20th centuries as the city became one of the great manufacturing centers in New England.
The Saunders School building is also significant at the local level under National Register Criterion C as a representative example of a public school building designed in the Classical Revival style. Additionally, the Saunders School may be a rare secular building designed by M. Joseph G. Morissette, a local architect primarily associated with ecclesiastical buildings. Since the building's completion in 1931, the Saunders School has undergone interior alterations to modernize the classrooms and restrooms. Exterior alterations have been limited to the installation of a new roof, doors, and windows dating to the 1980s. Despite these late 20th-century changes, the building retains its character-defining Classical Revival features and overall integrity of design, materials, workmanship, location, feeling, association, and setting.
No longer needed as a school, the building is in the process of conversion to affordable, supportive housing for formerly homeless people. Narrative Statement of Significance (provide at least one paragraph for each area of significance) The Saunders School building standing today at 243 South Broadway was constructed to replace an earlier school building located on the same lot. The earlier wood-frame school building and its freestanding annex building were destroyed in a 1931 fire; rebuilding provided the city an opportunity to construct a modern, fireproof school that could accommodate more students. The new school was substantially larger than its predecessor, allowing it to better serve the quickly expanding population, which had grown from 62,559 in 1900, to 94,270 in 1920.
The construction of the school reflected a school building campaign initiated by the city of Lawrence in the 1930s, in order to provide a quality education to the growing student population. The Saunders School is a representative example of the Classical Revival style of architecture. It was designed by M. Joseph G. Morissette, a Lawrence native and resident. With the exception of the Saunders School, Morissette's known commissions are churches and associated schools and rectories. Developmental history/additional historic context information (if appropriate) Historic Context FOUNDING AND DEVELOPMENT OF LAWRENCE Composed of land that was once part of the present-day towns of Andover and Methuen, Lawrence was incorporated as a town in 1847 and became a city in 1853.
In 1843, a group of businessmen including William and Abbot Lawrence, as well as Andover woolen manufacturer Daniel Saunders, established the Merrimack Water Power Association and set out to harness the waterpower of the Merrimack for industrial purposes. The investors, who became known as the Boston Associates, established the Essex Company to produce textiles, harnessing the Merrimack River to power their looms. Lawrence, named after its principal stockholder, was laid out as a planned textile community with mills, boardinghouses, dwelling houses, schools, and other services similar to an earlier venture in Lowell, Massachusetts, ten miles to the west. Lawrence grew rapidly to become one of the nation's largest textile manufacturers. In 1845, the Essex Company purchased 4,313 acres of land north and south of the river from Methuen and Andover landowners.
The Essex Company dammed the river and created canals north and south of the river. The completion of the great stone dam in 1848, and the North Canal in 1849, spurred further settlement in Lawrence. By 1850, the Essex Company had laid out a complete street grid north of the Merrimack River. The population, which had just numbered 100 in 1845, had, by 1850, increased to 8,358 and was composed mainly of immigrants seeking employment in the textile mills. In 1860, the population had increased again, totaling 17,639, 42% of whom were foreign-born. Lawrence was an (continued) 7 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State immigrant city, as it abounded with skilled and unskilled workers from almost every nation in Europe, including Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Poland, and Lithuania. In addition, there was a major influx of French Canadians.
The population of Lawrence continued to grow, rising from 17,639 to 28,921 by the 1870s. Development in Lawrence continued apace in the last decades of the 19th century as the mills and factories continued to prosper. In 1890, the population had risen to 44,654, 45% percent of whom were foreign born.' Following its incorporation as a town in 1847, Lawrence formed a committee responsible for establishing a school system that would ensure the children of Lawrence received a proper education. The school committee was composed of James Do. sidered the fathet or thD. Ammricand Dic sh l, do Than thermite 5 uge L aher euce arubic Hhool sy am: Ahohas time Lawrence had three, one-story, district schoolhouses. Two were located in an area that had been part of Methuen- one on Tower Hill, and the other at the intersection of what is now Prospect and East Haverhill streets.
The third schoolhouse was located south of the river in a section of Lawrence that was previously part of the town of Andover, near the intersection of Lowell Road and the Turnpike (present-day intersection of South Broadway and Andover Street). This third schoolhouse was moved to the corner of South Broadway and Chester Street (the site of the present-day Saunders School building) in 1860. This building was razed at an unknown time, and a two-story school building had been constructed in its place by 1895, when it appeared on the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map.?
Local records indicate that the population rose from 62,559 in 1900 to 94,270 in 1920, with foreign-born residents accounting for approximately 45% percent of this total.* Between 1892 and 1920, seven school buildings were constructed to service the outlying sections of the city, which for many years had been increasing in school-age population without adequate educational facilities to meet their needs.! From the time of its founding in 1847 through the 1920s, the Lawrence Public School System had grown in response to the city's population increases and education needs. The present Saunders School and its predecessor were named for Daniel Saunders (b.1796), a key figure in the formation of the Merrimack River Water Power Association and the founding of Lawrence. Saunders was the town's first Treasurer, and his son, Daniel Saunders, Jr. (d.1872), was mayor of Lawrence in 1860.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE PRESENT-DAY SAUNDERS SCHOOL BUILDING As depicted on the 1911 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, a two-story school building, known as Saunders School, and a separate annex building were located on the lot at 243 South Broadway prior to the construction of the present-day Saunders School. In 1931, the earlier Saunders School and annex were destroyed in a fire. Following the fire, Saunders School students attended the Sacred Heart School until construction on the new building was complete? As an integral component of the Lawrence Public School System, the city immediately began work on constructing a new, larger Saunders School, which would continue to educate students in the first, second, and third grades.
Construction of the new Saunders School building coincided with the city's school building campaign, which had become necessary by the end of the 1920s to keep pace with the city's expanding population.® Local architect M. Joseph G. Morissette was selected to design the new Saunders School, which is his only documented secular commission discovered to date. The construction firm of Stephen D'Urso and Son, Inc. was awarded a contract on (continued) "Lawrence History Timeline" from http://www.lawrencehistorycenter.org, accessed January 28, 2010 One Hundredth Annual Report of the School Committee, Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1946 3 Dorgan, Maurice B. History of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Massachusetts: Dorgan, 1924: 88. 4 "Lawrence History Timeline" from http://www.lawrencehistorycenter.org, accessed January 28, 2010 The schools constructed between 1890 and 1920 were the John R.
Rollins School (NR) on Prospect Hill, the John K. Tarbox School, the Emily C Netherbee School, the Alexander B. Bruce School, the Gilbert E. Hood School, the John J. Breen School, and the Francis M. Leahy School. An additio to the Lawrence High School (James D. Horne Annex) was also built during this period. Ken Skulski. Lawrence Massachusetts Volume Il: Images of America. New Hampshire: Arcadia Press, 1997: 29. 7 "Schools Of City Reopen," Lawrence Telegram Newspaper, September 8, 1931. - In 1920, the population of Lawrence had reached 94,270. 8 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State June 1, 1931, by the city council to construct three new school buildings-Charles S. Storrow, Park Street, and Saunders schools.? The Lawrence Telegram article noted that sub-contracts would be given to local businesses and that work would be restricted to local labor.
The article also indicated that the sub-contracts would be signed within one week of the June 1 contract and the construction must be completed in 250 working days. An additional stipulation was added for the Saunders School, stating a penalty of ten dollars for every day over the allocated construction period if the school was not completed on time. According to the Eighty Fifth Annual Report of the School Committee (1931), $164,732.87 had been spent constructing the new Saunders, Storrow, and Park Street schools. The Lawrence Public Schools had also spent $71,824.29 on repairs to their 27 existing buildings, which provided 350 classrooms, 268 of which were at the elementary school level. In 1931, the school system employed 542 teachers and had 13,975 children enrolled in school, although the average attendance was 11,467.
The new Saunders School building was located in District Four, along with the Wetherbee School in South Lawrence. Combined, the two schools had 561 students, 206 of which were in the first through third grades at Saunders School. In 1931, Saunders School was staffed by eight teachers serving under Principal Catherine G. O'Leary. The staff, which had all taught in the earlier Saunders School building, beginning in 1928, consisted of: Mollie B. Marsh (third grade), Mary A. Wholey (third grade), Annie Brickley (second grade), Elizabeth H. Elliott (second grade), Agnes R. Hogan (second grade), Josephine A. Kelley (first grade), Nellie S. Stockpole (first grade), and Z. Alice Mckenny (tirst grade).
'° The staff at Saunders School remained the same through 1935, and enrollment fluctuated between 200 and 230 students through that period." Construction of the new Saunders School, as well as the new Storrow and Park Street schools, was completed as Lawrence was grappling with the effects of the Great Depression. Prior to the onset of the Great Depression, Lawrence's worsted mill economy (the city's largest industry) was booming. In 1910, local industry employed 20,668 people and produced $58,536,000 worth of goods; by 1921, production had risen to $106,784,289 and employment had risen to 22,730. The need for worsted goods during World War I explains much of the dramatic growth during the late 1910s. These numbers were surpassed in 1923, when production rose to $137,234,057 and employment to 24,493.
The onset of the Great Depression forced many small manufacturers to close down, with the number of establishments in operation dropping from twelve to seven between 1923 and 1932. By 1932, production of worsted goods dropped to $31,229,907 and employment to 11,848. The effects of the Great Depression on the worsted mills were devastating to Lawrence's economy, as the mills reduced staff by more than 50%. Consequently, New Deal programs such as the Emergency Relief Administration (ERA), which would later become the Public Works Administration, were important in providing work to the large number of unemployed in Lawrence. Projects sponsored by ERA hired local workers who would earn approximately twelve dollars a week.
The ERA funded 70% of a project's cost, with the remaining 30% funded by the municipality where the project was located.' Through the ERA, several major projects were undertaken in Lawrence, such as the removal of old trolley tracks, the construction of Lawrence Municipal Airport, the installation of sewers and water mains throughout the city, and repairs to the municipal hospital. Smaller projects include a traffic survey, stump removal, the repair of pump stations, repainting of schools and libraries, classification of public records, tree planting on the town's North Common, headstones for soldiers, construction of a bandstand in South Lawrence, and pest (specifically caterpillar) eradication." Food rations of butter, cheese, flour, oats, and other commodities were provided weekly at the Everett Mill for those still not working.
In 1936, as the city of Lawrence continued to suffer through the Great Depression, there was a noticeable decline in the number of children attending school, which at the end of 1936 was down to 10,935. Of these, 179 children were enrolled (continued) 9 "D'Urso Co. Is Given Work On All Three," Lawrence Telegram Newspaper, June 1, 1931. 10 School Committee Report, 1931. 1 School Committee Reports, 1931-1935. 2 Various. History of Lawrence, MA. Lawrence, MA: Shifting Gears Proiect, 1982 13 Reilly, Barney. "Lawrence and the New Deal," from the collections of the Lawrence History Center. 1ª An Authentic Record of Federal Emergency Relief at Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1934-1935. 9 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State at Saunders School. By 1936, the total number of students enrolled in District Four had dropped to 508, a decrease of 65 students from 1935.
The school system had closed two schools-Franklin and Hampshire-at the end of the 1935 school year, leaving 25 school buildings and 327 classrooms. With the closure of school buildings and overall decline in attendance, there was a reduction in staff. At Saunders School, a first- and a second-grade teacher were laid off, reducing the staff from eight to six teachers.' The decline of students attending school in Lawrence is illustrative of a nationwide trend in education that occurred during the Great Depression. As unemployment increased, families increasingly did not have the financial resources to provide their children with sufficient and nutritious food, let alone the supplies necessary to attend school. Childhood malnutrition increased during the Depression; in New York City, the health department reported that just over 20% of school children showed signs of malnutrition in 1932.
The Great Depression also had an impact on education nationwide by causing fiscal retrenchment in schools due to a shrinking tax base. The closure of businesses, and resulting unemployment, reduced the revenues generated by local taxes that had traditionally supported public schooling. State contributions to education were low prior to the 1930s, and the Depression forced further fiscal stringencies at the state level. Thus, local school boards were forced to cut expenses, often by reducing the teaching staff and curtailing educational programs. In the South and Southwest, many school boards reduced the length of the school year and even closed schools. Schools in Northern industrial states, which were generally more prosperous, were also forced to shorten the school years. In some cases, school remained in session but school boards were unable to pay the teaching staff.
These teachers were given promissory notes for their salaries, which would be paid when additional revenues had been collected. Enrollment at Saunders School remained in the 170s through 1938; in 1939, enrollment dropped even further to 152. The overall attendance for all the Lawrence Schools had declined to 10,149 in 1936. Between 1938 and 1939, one school building closed, reducing the overall number of classrooms to 320. This trend continued through the 1940 school year, as two more schools closed, leaving the city with 22 school buildings to serve its 9,584 students. District Four's enrollment had dropped to 415 students, with enrollment at Saunders School down to 141. In the midst of a contracting student body and a reduction in facilities, the Lawrence Public School System was paying more for each student throughout the 1930s.
The cost per pupil spent by the school system had increased from $84.12 in 1934 to $116.82 in 1940." A sharp economic recovery occurred in 1940-1941 due to wartime contracts; the value of goods produced nearly doubled and employment increased by 30-40%. Production peaked the following year, when $164,180,768 worth of worsted goods was produced by 21,698 employees. The rise in worsted good manufacturing can be traced to the onset of World War II, with production focused toward the war effort. Worsted goods were a vital component of the wartime economy and helped to temporarily improve Lawrence's economy.! The early 1940s brought several staff changes at Saunders School. Prior to the 1941 school year, Mollie Marsh, a third- grade teacher at Saunders School who had begun teaching in Lawrence in 1895, retired. Saunders School brought in Florence G.
Regan to teach second grade, while the remaining teachers switched teaching assignments to maintain two third grade classes, two second-grade classes, and two first-grade classes. Prior to the 1942 school year, both first grade teachers-Josephine Kelley and Nellie Stockpole-retired, having taught in Lawrence since 1893 and 1895, respectively. Irene V. Cotter and Beatrice A. McPhee were hired as the new first-grade teachers that year. Staff remained the same through 1945, with the exception of a new principal. For the 1944 school year, Helen F. Gainey was hired to serve as the new principal of Saunders School." Economic improvement due to World War II did not increase school attendance in Lawrence. Through 1944, the Saunders student population continued to decrease slightly each year, reaching 135 students in 1944. That year the (continued) 15 School Committee Report, 1936.
16 Gutek, Gerald L. Education in the United States: An Historical Perspective. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1986: 240-241. 1 School Committee Reports, 1938-1940. 18 Various. History of Lawrence, MA. Lawrence, MA: Shifting Gears Project, 1982. 19 School Committee Reports, 1940-1942. 10 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State overall school attendance in the city had dropped to 7,104. In 1945, as WWII was ending, overall attendance dropped again to 6,911, but the attendance at Saunders School saw a jump from 135 to 157. This was a short-lived increase as enrollment dropped to 145 the following year. Saunders School replaced Beatrice A. McPhee with a new first grade teacher, Regina M. McCarthy, in 1946.
The city's overall attendance for 1946 reached a new low of 6,847.2° In 1946, the Lawrence Public School System published its one hundredth annual report and prepared a written assessment of the school system for the first time. That year, the school committee took steps to act on a referendum passed by the city to equalize the salaries of male and female teaches with equivalent experience. That same year, salaries throughout the school system were assessed and increased as necessary. A pre-primary class also opened at Bruce School for the first time in 1946 and was popular.
According to the report, "...requests have come from parents in several other sections of the city to provide similar accommodations for their children." The Lawrence Public School System also began a series of radio programs on the local station called "Your School and Home," which sought to increase parental interest in what was happening in the schools. At the time, Lawrence schools did not have parent-teacher associations?! The public school system's attempt to garner parental interest occurred as Lawrence's industrial economy continued to collapse. Despite economic rebounds in the worsted mills during World War II, the overall textile industry in Lawrence, especially cotton, experienced a slow and steady decline from the late 1920s through 1950, for several reasons.
First, the industry was affected by increasingly restrictive immigration policies after 1921 that reduced the supply of available, non- unionized labor. Lawrence was home to 54 different nationalities and 80% of its population was either foreign-born or first-generation American." By the 1920s, electricity and steam had replaced water as a primary power source, which meant that access to water was no longer necessary for manufacturing. Improved transportation reduced the importance of a mill's proximity to a market; it became increasingly easy to transport goods farther distances. Additionally, tax rates and fuel costs in New England had become prohibitively expensive, making manufacturing less profitable. These factors led many mill owners to seek out new locations or to simply close down their plants. The first cotton mill to leave Lawrence was the Atlantic Cotton Mills in 1916.
The mill moved to South Carolina where land was cheap, there was plentiful, non- unionized labor, and favorable tax incentives. As cotton mills began to leave or shut down, some light manufacturing developed in its place. Between 1926 and 1936, sixteen new companies (half of which produced leather and shoe products) set up operations in vacant mill buildings. By 1950, all the cotton mills in Lawrence had closed or liquidated their assets.23 Significant declines in the population accompanied the closure of cotton mills. From a peak of approximately 94,200 people in 1920, the population dropped to around 85,000 in 1930; the population remained steady through the end of World War II. In 1949, when suburban areas were experiencing a postwar boom, Lawrence had an unemployment rate of 40%. By 1950, the population shrank to just about 80,000.
Remaining residents looked to the wool mills for employment during this period. However, the production spikes for worsted goods that accompanied World War II were short-lived. Increasing southern competition forced the remaining woolen mills to close during the 1950s. In 1952 and 1954, the American Woolen Company closed its two Lawrence mills-Ayers Mills (2,657 jobs) and Wood Mills (7,000 jobs). Mills liquidated their assets in 1952, Monomac Mills closed in 1952, and in 1956 Pacific Millselosed (4,100 Despite an overall population loss, school enrollment in all Lawrence Public Schools began to rebound in 1949, with small but steady increases through 1960. In his 1950 annual report, James F. Hennessey, Superintendent of Schools, noted that the marginal enrollment increases in 1949 and 1950 were part of a nationwide trend.
According to Hennessey, (continued) 2° School Committee Reports, 1940-1944. "School Committee Report, 1946. Three additional pre-primary classes were opened in 1947 at Arlington, Breen, and Storrow schools, for a total of seven in the city. 22 Skulski, Ken. Lawrence Massachusetts Volume Il: Images of America. South Carolina: Arcadia Press, 1997. 2 Various. History of Lawrence, MA. Lawrence, MA: Shifting Gears Project, 1982. 2 Various. History of Lawrence, MA. Lawrence, MA: Shifting Gears Project, 1982. 11 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State however, "The enrollment increase in the Lawrence Public Schools has not been as marked as it has been in some other communities, and some other parts of the country.
The chief reason for this difference is that the City of Lawrence, because of its small area, has seen many families move to suburban towns." Hennessey concluded, "We have seen a definite removal of the school enrollment away from the school districts in the downtown section of the city."25 Enrollment at Saunders School mirrored the overall growth in the school system, with moderate enrollment increases between 1950 and 1960. In 1950, Saunders School offered its first pre-primary class, which was taught by Josephine C. Wholley. That year Saunders had 220 students enrolled, an increase of 75 students from 1946, largely due to the addition of a pre-primary class. A temporary teacher, Frances E. Pearson, was also brought in that year to teach the third grade. In 1951, Lillian B. Haverty became the new principal of Saunders School, which had 247 students enrolled that year.
A second pre-primary class was added in 1951, with Patricia C. Paquin hired as the permanent teacher.?6 By 1952, a tenth staff member had been hired at Saunders School, and an additional first-grade class was added to serve the 283 students. The staff now included: Mary A Wholey (third grade), Agnes R. Hogan (third grade), Mary E. Crowley (second grade), Alice E. Hannon (second grade), Marie R. Barrett (first grade), Alice E. Sullivan (first grade), Mary R. Shinnick (first grade), Margaret M. Gregg (pre-primary), and two temporary teachers-Margaret F. O'Sullivan (first grade) and Geraldine Lynch (pre-primary). Superintendent Hennessey discussed the increase in South Lawrence enrollment in his 1952 annual report. Hennessy noted that: The bulk of new enrollment has been concentrated in the South Lawrence Schools.
While there have been increases generally in all our lower grades, the first grade enrollment in the South Lawrence Schools has increased most of all. Almost 60% more pupils of all grades attend these schools now than attended 10 years ago, and most of this increase is still in the first four grades. This increase has been due to the opening of three new housing projects in this area.? According to the 1953 and 1954 Annual Reports of the School Committee, the construction of housing developments in South Lawrence had put a strain on existing facilities and staff, forcing the Lawrence Public School System to find solutions to crowded classrooms. Some kindergarten (also referred to as pre-primary) classes were cancelled, and proposals were submitted for busing older students to central-city schools where there was more space.
Growth related to the new housing developments was evident at Saunders School, which had 347 students in 1953 and 390 students by 1954. In 1953, the two temporary staff positions became permanent, allowing Saunders School to offer two third-grade classes, three second-grade classes, three first-grade classes, and two pre-primary classes. In 1954, the school demographics changed and the school offered three third-grade classes, two second-grade classes, three first-grade classes, and one pre-primary class. A new principal also came on board in 1954, Beatrice E. Condon. In order to continue to accommodate a pre-primary class in 1955, Saunders School had to hold the sessions in a hall at the Beacon Courts Housing Project. Following World War II, the city of Lawrence shifted the focus of its economy to merchandising.
A commemorative booklet, published by the Greater Lawrence Chamber of Commerce in 1953, highlighted Lawrence's growth as a center of merchandising, both at the wholesale and retail levels. Improvements in transportation and an expanding suburban base helped the greater Lawrence area become a shopping destination for northeastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. By 1953, retail sales in the greater Lawrence area totaled more than $140 million per year?" Despite successes of retail and wholesale merchandising, Lawrence's economy and population remained devastated by the loss of mills and the accompanying 20,000 jobs. (continued) 25 School Committee Report, 1950. 26 School Committee Reports, 1950-1951 2 School Committee Reports, 1952. 28 School Committee Reports, 1953-1955. 2 Horizons Centennial Anniversary 1853-1953. Lawrence: The Greater Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, 1953.
12 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State Continued shifts in the population of Lawrence led to the 1957 announcement that two new elementary schools would be constructed in South Lawrence to relieve the overcrowding. It was anticipated the schools-located on Osgood and Hamlet streets-would open in 1959. By 1957, Saunders School had increased its staffto ten permanent teachers, and had 337 students enrolled. With such high enrollment, an eleventh teacher was added to the staff in 1958. In 1958, staff consisted of Barbara Coughlin (third grade), Thelma Harvey (third grade), Catherine H. Rivet (third grade), Ann Robishaw (third grade), Frances V. Hart (second grade), M. Genevieve McDonald (second grade), Claire M. O'Connor (second grade), Margaret Hart (first grade), Mary R. Shinnick (first grade), Alice E.
Sullivan (first grade), and Natalie Shepard (pre- primary). Construction of the city's two new schools was delayed and they were not ready for the 1959 or 1960 school year. Thus, enrollment at Saunders School remained at approximately 330 in 1959, and rose to 371 in 1960.30 Frost and Kane schools opened for the 1961 school year. Superintendent Hennessey remarked on the school openings: Our school buildings are changing. We are all aware of the new concepts in school architecture. No longer is the school built as a monument to some distinguished public figure or to the pride of the community. The modern school is intended, first of all, to house a well-planned educational program and the design is to be clean and functional as modern safety standards and sensible economy require.
Aside from showcasing the advances in school design, the opening of the Front and Kane schools relieved pressure on the existing schools in South Lawrence. Enrollment at Saunders School dropped from 371 in 1960 to 190 in 1961. The school was able to house its pre-primary class on-site, and was able to reduce its teaching staff to seven.' By 1963, the growing population in South Lawrence fostered additional changes at Saunders School. Between 1961 and 1962, the school went from holding one pre-primary class to three pre-primary classes. The school was staffed by nine teachers, and enrollment had risen to 241 by 1963. In 1963, Saunders School held a fourth-grade class for the first time. The following year, Saunders School added a fifth-grade class for the first time.
No school committee reports are available after 1967.32 LAWRENCE: 1960 - THE PRESENT From 1960 to 1980, the city's population decreased from 80,000 to 64,000. High unemployment rates continued to plague Lawrence through the 1960s. In response, the city worked to attract new industries such as Honeywell and General Electric, which both opened new facilities in Lawrence. Honeywell Information Systems occupied the former Ayer Mill in South Lawrence from 1962-1966. However, the company's brief stint in Lawrence did little to curb unemployment.33 The former mill buildings began to be used for warehousing, and by small manufacturing firms for light industrial production.
By the mid-1970s, small firms were producing the city's major products such as leather and leather products, rubber and plastic products, apparel and furnished goods, machinery, electrical machinery, and some textile mill products.34 Urban renewal swept through Lawrence beginning in 1959. The Lawrence Redevelopment Authority (LRA) was responsible for several redevelopment initiatives throughout the city, including the Common Valley Concord Project, Plains Project, Broadway Essex Project, and Garden Union Allen Project. These initiatives totaled 116 acres. The earliest project was the Common Valley Concord Project, which began in 1959 and encompassed 33 acres. The project area was redeveloped with a new U.S. Post Office, an apartment complex, and various other, smaller structures.? These projects (continued) 30 School Committee Reports, 1957-1960. 31 School Committee Reports, 1960-1961.
34 Various. History of Lawrence, MA. Lawrence, MA: Shifting Gears Project, 1982. 35 Farrell, John H. "End of a Decade: Urban Renewal - Still Going Forward," Lawrence Eagle Tribune, December 31, 1969:1. 13 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State included extensive demolition. The city razed one of the two massive main mills at the Wood Worsted Mill complex (NR, 2010), once considered the largest mill in the world. The city also demolished large tracts downtown, including former worker's housing, to accommodate parking lots. A mall and three-story parking garage were also constructed during the 1970s, in an attempt to compete with the then-new suburban shopping malls. Theater Row, located along Broadway Street, was also razed during the 1970s.
The ornate movie houses dating to the 1920s and 1930s had entertained mill workers throughout the Great Depression and World War II. The city's historic post office, which had been sited at the corner of Broadway and Essex streets, was also lost during the 1970s. Replacement structures were generally one-story, steel-frame structures with large parking lots, such as fast food restaurants and chain drugstores, that fundamentally changed the character of downtown Lawrence. In 1970, the city received federal approval to move forward with their South Lawrence urban renewal project-known as the Saunders Improvement Area. The Saunders Improvement Area was an urban renewal project but it was not under the aegis of the LRA. The Saunders Improvement Area was a test case for rehabilitating existing housing stock rather than demolishing it.
According to a newspaper article from 1972, "There is [sic] no displacement of families, no razing of buildings in this 'concentrated code enforcement' program. Instead, an inspector identifies housing code violations, and rehabilitation specialists help homeowners to plan improvements." These improvements were eligible for low-interest federal loans or, in some cases, grants. The project area encompassed 512 structures, with 904 dwelling units and approximately 3,000 residents within an 105-acre tract bounded by South Broadway and State, Andover, Front, Davis, and Kenneth streets. The city committed to making street, sidewalk, and landscape improvements to the area36 The Saunders Improvement Area encircled the Saunders School, and was instrumental in improving hundreds of dwellings and the living conditions of many of its students.
Immigration, which had nearly ceased during the 1950s and 1960s, resurged during the 1970s, with a large population of 37 These were Lawrence's first major between Hispanic youths and working class whites in 1984. During the 1980s, Lawrence made attempts to increase its employment base by attracting industries unwanted in other communities, such as waste treatment facilities and incinerators. Two trash incinerators operated in Lawrence through the 1980s and 1990s. During the recession of the early 1990s, Lawrence encountered more setbacks as arsonists set fire to more than 200 building during an eighteen-month period in 1991-1992. Additionally, the city sold the Intown Mall, which had been largely abandoned since the early 1990s, to Northern Essex Community College for development as their medical sciences center.
Starting in the 2000s, Lawrence underwent positive changes, such as a sharp reduction in violent crime, and private investment in the remaining section of Wood Mill for its conversion to commercial, residential, and educational uses. A resurgence of business activity has occurred along Essex Street, with the opening of many Hispanic-owned businesses. ARCHITECTURE OF SAUNDERS SCHOOL M. Joseph G. Morissette, a Lawrence native, trained at the Wentworth Institute in Boston and focused his practice on religious architecture. Morissette grew up on Brookfield Street, which was near the Sacred Heart Church (of which he was a member) and only a block away from the present-day Saunders School Morissette's father, a carpenter, had a shop a few blocks away on Farley Street.
As an adult in 1925, Joseph Morissette was listed in the city directory as living at 99 Dracut Street, only a block away from his childhood home. An advertisement in the 1925 city directory listed Morissette as an architect with an office at 575A Essex Street in Lawrence.4° (continued) 36 "Urban renewal is lagging far behind in Saunders Area." Lawrence Eagle Tribune January 26, 1972 37 The influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants was a shift from the 1g' century immigration that consisted mainly of European and French Canadians. 38 Various. History of Lawrence, MA. Lawrence, MA: Shifting Gears Project, 1982. 39 Lawrence City Directory. Boston: Sampson and Murdock Co., 1913. 40 Lawrence City Directory. Boston: Sampson and Murdock Co., 1925.
14 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State Commissioned to design the new Daniel Saunders School building in 1931, Morissette employed a restrained interpretation of the Classical Revival style. The Classical Revival style, often referred to as the Neoclassical style, was highly popular throughout the United States during the first half of the 20"h century. The style was particularly popular for public buildings because it held connotations of permanence and grandeur. The Classical Revival style in America had two distinct phases: 1900-1920 and 1925-1950. During the latter period, when the Saunders School was built, Classical Revival designs were characterized by simpler detailing, less elaborate columns, and flat or side-gable roofs." The use of the Classical Revival style on the Saunders School made it a prominent building in South Lawrence.
The school building is surrounded by residential buildings designed in the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and other turn of the century styles. Commercial buildings in the vicinity are vernacular in design and many date to the last two decades. Classical Revival buildings, aside from other schools in South Lawrence, are limited to Lawrence's downtown area. The Park Street and Charles S. Storrow schools were also constructed in 1931, and are architecturally compatible with the Saunders School building. The Park Street School, located at 130 Park Street, was executed in the Classical Revival style. The two-story, plus basement, school building has ornamentation limited to the main entrance surround, an engraved nameplate above the central façade bays, and cast lintels with keystones. Similarly, the Charles S.
Storrow School, located at 50 Pleasant Street, also displays Classical Revival features The two-story, plus raised basement, building has minimal ornamentation, but does include inset cast panels above the second story on the outer bays, an engraved nameplate above the central façade bays, and an arched surround at the main entrance. These three school buildings all employ the most popular architectural treatment for public buildings at the time of their construction. Other examples of Classical Revival school buildings in Lawrence include the Lawrence High School and the Bruce School. Earlier school buildings in Lawrence were designed in styles popular at the time of their construction. For instance, during the 1892 school-building campaign the Rollins and Wetherbee schools were designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
Additionally, the 1885 George Packard School was executed in the Second Empire style. Morissette designed a number of churches in Massachusetts. A search of the Massachusetts Historical Commission's database indicates that other known commissions in Lawrence include the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church (1934), Rectory (1924), and School (1925) (Sacred Heart Parish Complex, NR Pending). Other sources indicate he also designed Lawrence's Immaculate Conception (ca 1920) and Polish National Catholic Church (1925). Commissions in other municipalities include the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church (1928) and School (1910) in Amesbury, and Saint Theresa Catholic Church (1935) in Methuen. 42 Most of these buildings exhibit elements of the Gothic Revival style, along with the classical influences that appear in the Saunders School building.
However, only the Saunders School and the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School of Amesbury fully utilize the Classical Revival style. While other Morissette commissions may be identified in the future, at present, the Saunders School is Morissette's only known secular design. SAUNDERS SCHOOL BUILDING TODAY The Saunders School building was in operation for over 75 years, serving as a kindergarten in its final years-a transition that occurred after 1967. The school officially closed in 2006; from 2006 to 2009, the building was used as a storage facility for furniture and clothing collected for fire and disaster victims. In 2009, the city sold the building to Peabody Properties, which plans to convert it into sixteen affordable, supportive-housing units for homeless families in Massachusetts.
Currently, there are more than 3,300 homeless families in the Commonwealth, including 1,300 families residing in motel units at a cost to the state of more than $100 per night. The adaptive reuse of the Saunders School will provide both a permanent and cost-effective alternative for homeless families, and it will be the first facility of its kind in Massachusetts. In addition to housing, residents will have access to affordable childcare, job training, and counseling services designed to help them increase their economic self-sufficiency and connections to the community. The building will also include space for additional supportive services and public meetings. The project is currently under construction. (continued) 4' McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.: 2002: 342-346. 42 Massachusetts Historical Commission.
Sacred Heart Parish Complex Area Form R (Lawrence) by Christine Beard. 2006 15 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State Archaeological Significance Structural evidence and artifacts (i.e. construction debris) associated with the original Saunders School (ca. 1847) may contribute important information related to the school's design and architectural characteristics. Important information may also exist that contributes details of the extent of rebuilding to the original school. (end) 16 Daniel Saunders School Name of Property Essex County, MA County and State 9.
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