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NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) RECEIVES 2280 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service 854 OCT 14.2011 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NAI. REGISTER CF HICTORIC PLACES NATONAL PARK SERVICE This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional certification comments, entries, and narrative items on continuation sheets if needed (NPS Form 10-900a). 1.
Name of Property historic name Acton High School other names/site number 2. Location street & number 3 Charter Road N/A N/A not for publication city or town state MA Acton code 3. State/Federal Agency Certification MA county Middlesex code 017 Jvicinity zip code 01720 As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this V nomination request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property V does not meet the National Register Criteria.
I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: - national - statewide Vlocal Brona Suvon Signature of certifying official/Title Brona Simon, SHPO, MHC dctober 7, 2011 Date State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property _ meets does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official Date Title State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby contify that this property is: entered in the National Register _ determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register . removed from the National Register Jer Thaan I.
Beall 1''22.4 Date of Action 1 United States Department of the Interior NPS Fom Park Service / National Register of Historic Places RNo, 12400Fm NPS Form 10-900 Acton High School Name of Property 5. Classification Ownership of Propert (Check as many boxes as apply. X private public - Local public - State public - Federal Category of Property (Check only one box.) building(s) district site structure object (Expires 5/31/2012) Middlesex County, MA County and State umber of Resources within Proper o not include previously listed resources in the cour Contributing 1 Noncontributing 1 buildings sites structures objects Total Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing) N/A 6.
Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) EDUCATION/secondary school Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register 0 Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) VACANT/NOT IN USE 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) LATE & 20TH CENTURY REVIVALS/Renaissance Revival Materials (Enter categories from instructions.) foundation: CONCRETE walls: BRICK roof: other: SYNTHETICS/rubber 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Acton High School Name of Property (Expires 5/31/2012) Middlesex County, MA County and State Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance of the property.
Explain contributing and noncontributing resources if necessary. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, setting, size, and significant features.) Summary Paragraph The former Acton High School building is located near the geographic center of Acton, Massachusetts, a small suburban community roughly twenty miles northwest of Boston. The school property sits at the intersection of Charter Road and Massachusetts Avenue, a principal east/west thoroughfare for the town. Just north of the old high school, along Charter Road between Massachusetts Avenue and Hayward Road, are three public school complexes: the Parker Damon Building (housing two elementary schools), the R.J. Grey Junior High School, and the current Acton-Boxborough Regional High School.
Massachusetts Avenue in the vicinity of the old high school is dominated by commercial uses, while the area west of the high school property has been subdivided into large, modern suburban house lots. The historic high school building sits on a prominent 3.1-acre corner lot. Grass lawns are maintained at the front, rear, and west side of the building, while a packed-dirt yard abuts the east elevation. Overgrown foundation plantings line much of the façade, and a number of mature trees dot the site. Concrete walkways lead to entrances at the front and rear. Cyclone fencing encloses land at the front (south) of the school. Narrative Description The Acton High School is a two-story, red-brick building designed in the Renaissance Revival style, which is most pronounced in the rows of tall arched windows dominating the second floor of the façade (Photo 1).
Constructed in 1925, the school consists of a main block and two small rear additions (ca. 1950), forming a U- shaped plan. The building is trimmed with a combination of limestone and cast-stone elements in the form of quoins, pilasters, keystones, entry surrounds, pediments, a watertable, and a belt course. Window openings hold modern aluminum 1/1 sash. The main block rests on a cast-stone foundation, and is enclosed by a flat roof, finished with rubber roofing and framed by a low brick parapet with a sheet-metal coping. The parapet is stepped at the façade (south elevation). The roofline at the façade and side elevations is defined by a limestone fascia and sheet-metal cornice. Main Block The symmetrical façade (south elevation) is fifteen bays wide and features two shallow, projecting entry pavilions.
At the lower level of these identical pavilions is an entry with a low granite stoop and limestone surrounds. The entry doors are framed by simple molding and topped by a prominent segmental pediment on brackets (Photo 3). The historic glazed and paneled-wood double doors that formerly occupied the entries were replaced by the existing modern metal doors (ca. 1980). Above each main entry is a narrow window flanked by brick pilasters that rise to simple limestone capitals, supporting a gabled pediment. Windows at the first floor have splayed brick heads, while those at the upper floor have arched heads with limestone sills, keystones, and imposts (Photo 2). Windows at the second floor are separated by slender limestone pilasters with simple, stylized capitals. At either end of the second floor is a blind arch original to the building, each with a limestone keystone, sill, and imposts.
Limestone quoins flank the end bays of the façade. (continued) 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Acton High School Name of Property Middlesex County, MA County and State The two side elevations (east and west) are nearly identical, except for a variation in the arrangement of windows (Photos 4 & 5). These simple brick elevations rise from a cast-stone watertable and are defined by limestone quoins. The cast-stone belt course separates the two floors. Window openings are defined by cast-stone sills and splayed brick heads. The rear elevation (north) of the main block has less architectural detailing than the other exterior walls (Photo 6).
The rear wall rises from a low cast-stone watertable, and features three brick buttresses centered on the lower level (Photo 7). A simple brick belt course defines the roofline beneath the parapet. Windows are a combination of arched and flat openings, all with splayed brick heads. Second-floor windows have cast-stone sills. A wide entrance at the west end is topped by a splayed brick head and holds a modern metal door. At the east end of the main block there is evidence of an original doorway that was subsequently infilled with brick. This door originally provided access to an enclosed rear stair, which is no longer extant. Rear Additions When originally constructed, the building included a small one-story rear addition off the northwest corner that held the boiler room.
The original boiler room ell was replaced by the existing northwest addition around 1950 (the exact date of construction is not known; it does not appear on the Sanborn atlas of 1945, yet does show up on an aerial photograph from 1969). The addition holds a boiler room at the lower level and a classroom above. This addition is a two-story, brick, utilitarian structure resting on a low, cast-stone water table and enclosed by a flat roof. Ornamentation is limited to simple brick corbelling along the roof edge (Photo 8). Fenestration has been modified over time and is irregular, with windows of varying sizes and asymmetrical placement. Window openings have cast-stone sills and splayed brick heads. The rear elevation appears to have been modified significantly (ca. 1970s), with the addition of a fire escape, new windows, and wood infill at the upper floor.
Two entrances from the fire escape hold modern, flush metal doors. The two-story brick addition at the northeast corner of the building appears to have been constructed about the same time as the northwest addition (ca. 1950) and features the same detailing. This addition was designed with a bathroom and recessed entry at the lower level, while the upper floor was used as offices. When first constructed, two large brick arches (one on the north face and another on the west face) provided access to a recessed entry; the west archway has since been infilled with brick. The entry remains, but it now holds a modern door. Access to the entry can also be gained via an added opening in the west wall of the addition. This opening formerly led to an enclosed exterior stair that was removed (date unknown).
Interior The historic interior floor plan remains somewhat intact, with classrooms opening off of a wide central corridor (running east/west). Partitions dividing the various classrooms have been modified over time, with the addition of new walls and removal of older ones as needed to accommodate changing class sizes. The original auditorium space was altered in the 1970s to create two classrooms but it retains much of its historic fabric, including coffered ceilings, baseboards, window trim, and a paneled-wood proscenium arch (Photo 9). Historic finishes within the office area at the second floor of the northeast addition are intact, and consist of bead board wainscoting, wood window surrounds, and door casings (Photo 10). Throughout the remainder of the building, finishes are typically more recent, largely dating to the 1970s.
(continued) 4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Acton High School Name of Property (Expires 5/31/2012) Middlesex County, MA County and State Archaeological Description While no ancient Native American sites are known on the Acton High School property, it is possible that sites are present. One ancient site is recorded in the general area (within one mile), located near the confluence of Fort Pond and Grassy Pond brooks, approximately 0.75 miles west of the school. In general, environmental characteristics of the school property do not represent locational criteria (slope, soil drainage, proximity to wetlands) that are favorable for the presence of Native sites.
The school does occupy level to moderately sloping terrain; however, natural soils have been altered by cutting, filling, and urban development. Soil types for the high school and surrounding area are classified as Udorthents-Urban land soils, where soils have been disturbed by cutting and/or filling, and areas that are covered by buildings and pavement. Wetlands are also generally absent within 1,000 feet of the school, except for one small unnamed pond located approximately 750 feet to the southwest. In 2009, a town wide archaeological reconnaissance survey was conducted for the Town of Acton. During that survey the Acton High School property was included in the Acton Center/East Acton survey unit, which contained two known ancient Native American sites. Both sites were located west of the high school, in uplands immediately bordering Nashoba Brook and its tributaries.
The Acton High School area was considered a low sensitivity locale for ancient sites. Given the above information, the size of the nominated property (3.1 acres), and impacts associated with construction of the main block of the school (1925), two small rear additions (ca. 1950), and related utilities, a low potential exists for locating significant ancient Native American resources on the Acton High School property. A low potential also exists for locating significant historic archaeological resources on the Acton High School property. No structures or other forms of historic land use have been identified for the high school property, prior to construction of the existing school in 1925. Structural evidence of the original boiler room ell, demolished for construction of the existing northwest addition (ca.
1950), may survive; however, evidence of the ell was probably destroyed by the northwest addition. Documentary evidence should also exist for the boiler room ell, which has little significance or research potential as an archaeological resource. During the town wide archaeological reconnaissance survey noted above, seven historic archaeological sites were identified in the Acton Center/East Acton survey unit, and one site was previously recorded in MHC files. The historic sites in this survey unit included a cluster of industrial sites along Nashoba Brook, and farmsteads/residential sites dispersed throughout the unit. The Acton High School property was considered a low-sensitivity area during the survey. (end) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No.
1024-0018 Acton High School Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance