Nomination for Ames Schoolhouse

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received MAR 2 1983 date entered historic Anes Schoolhouse and/or common 2. Location Ames Schoolhouse street & number 450 Washington Street -N/pot for publication city, town Dedham N/Avicinity of state Massachusetts 3.

Classification Category Ownership district public X building(s) private structure both site Public Acquisition object N/A in process being considered code 025 county Norfolk code 021 Status - occupied _ unoccupied X work in progress Accessible X yes: restricted - yes: unrestricted no Present Use - agriculture .commercial educational entertainment - government industrial military museum park private residence religious scientific transportation K other:Vacant 4. Owner of Property name Nash Hirschfeld Associates Allan Nash street & number 450 Washington Street city, town Dedham N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state MA courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Norfolk County Registry of Deeds street & number High Street city, town Boston state MA 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets title of The Commonwealth #201 has this property been determined eligible? date 1978 _federal Xstate - yesX no - county- local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston state MA 7. Description Ames Schoolhouse, Dedham, MA Condition excellent Xgood fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one X unaltered altered Check one X original site moved date N/A Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Ames School faces northwest on Washington Street (now Route 1A) just south of Dedham's Business District. Set back 120 feet from the street, on a 2.04 acre plot, the School- house is a freestanding structure presently surrounded by an asphalt playground which gradually slopes to the rear (photos 1 and 2). Fire Station, Town Offices, two gasoline stations, and densely packed commercial build- ings; architecturally they comprise Modern, 19th century and Colonial Revival styles. Across the street, and to the west, 19th century houses, separated from the road anc each other by lawns, Shrubs, and large trees, impart a domestic, suburban atmosphere. Several Greek Revival homes of brick or wooden frame constructionlead from the west, along Washington Street, to the Ames Schoolhouse.

Residences also abut the southern property line, but most of them are separated by back yards and a screen of deciduous trees- Occupying the largest site on this part of Washington Street, and standing larger than any of its neighbors, the Ames Schoolhouse physically dominates this area. By its restrained monumentality, and good state of preservation, it emerges not only as a functionally valuable link in Dedham's suburban fabric, but also as a commendable example of school architecture at the turn of the 19th century. Constructed in 1878, the Ames School is an imposing structure exhibiting elements of Colonial Revival and Shingle Style design. It is symmetrically organized with a recessed central bay flanked by classroom wings, thus creating a H-Shaped plan which satisfied the requirements of a grammar school.

It rises two stories from a foundation hangim of roughfaced pink Dedham granite to overhanging hip roofs currently covered with asphalt shingles. Above the basement, the wood frame building is sheathed with brown stained cedar shingles, and is trimmed with a molded watertable, fluted Ionic pilasters and a modillion cornice, all painted white. Windows are grouped in three's and contain and srupad in threce s ant comtan 6/2 double-hung sash. The roof is pierced by eight dormers and each classroom wing is crowned by an arched cupola. A single chimney rises from the center of the building. The facade (northwest) is highlighted by a two-story entrance unit (photo 3) within the recessed central bay. A recessed double entry is spanned by a commemorative terra cotta panel, which is in turn topped by a modified Palladian window.

Here, the town leaders recalled their 17th century school and 18th century Congressman with a didactic inscription, "1644"; The Ames Schoolhouse, 1897 Named in honor of Fisher Ames, a native of Dedham, a wise statesman, and a friend of Washington". The doors themselves are paneled and headed by leaded transoms; they are flanked by leaded sidelights as A pair of two-story engaged, Ionic colums, enframes the entire composition. At the attic level, a gabled dormer accentuates the verticality of this central bay. The entire central pavillion is in turn enframed by six bay classroom wings which project by three windows' width. This design provided each room with two exterior walls for maximum sunlight and ventilation. The eastern and western elevations (photo 1) echo the treatment of the facade. Here, recessed entries are enframed by columns and windows in a Palladian motif; unfor- ones.

Because the eastern classroom bay has a large assembly hail unit on its second floor, the central third of the eastern elevation has no upper windows. Instead, a frieze of swags and the inscription "UNION" bridges two giant pilasters. The western elevation articulates its threestory staircase with five windows grouped beneath the cornice. continued... NPS Form10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 Far NPS use anly recsived date entered Continuation sheet Ames Schoolhouse, DedhamItem number 7 Page 1 The southern elevation (photo 4) matches the northern facade in its attic story and classroom bays, though here a steel fire escape (an addition) rises along the eastern bay.

Because the Ames School plot slopes towards the rear, the granite basement is one full støry high, and has two doorways in each side bay, and one in the recessed central section. A coal bin projects from this bay, and a red brick wall stretches between its flat roof and the shingles of the first floor. Above, the fenestration is irregularly arranged, for the rooms behind were a laboratory and offices, rather than classrooms. Inside, on the first level, eight classrooms open to a generously proportioned hall- way which runs laterally, parallel to Washington Street. At both ends,staircases rise to the second floor, where there are five classrooms and an assembly hall with a recessed stage. The original four foot high fluted wainscotting (repainted bright blue and butt) and foliate ceiling brackets survive intact throughout the classrooms and corridors. The attic story was never occupied.

Once this heavy timber framed space is finished, it will be usable. As suggested by the entrance facade, the central staircase is the circulatory and aesthetic focus of the interior. A half flight of stairs in the entry vestibule links grade level with the first story. Here, two wooden Tuscan columns and carved balusters lend the paired flights of stairs a comfortable domestic atmosphere. Above, the generously proportioned Palladian window floods this well with light. A glazed fire wall was later erected where the staircase opens on the second level, but here, as in the rest of the schoolhouse, the original ornament and the structure itself, is remarkably well- preserved.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Ames Schoolhouse, Dedham, MA Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 --1600-1699 1700-1799 1800-1899 1900 Areas of SignificanceCheck and justify below - archeology-prehistoric community planning archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics architecture _education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention -landscape architecture religion law literature military music philosophy politics/government science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other(specify) Specific dates erected in 1898 Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect Luther Greenleaf and Albert W. Cobb Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The Ames Schoolpossesses integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeding and association. Built on the site of Dedham's first school, it possesses romantic associations with the town's illustrious seventeenth century origins. As an impressive public building it directly represents the town's development as a prosperous suburb. Finally, it is an excellent example of a monumentally scaled turn-of-the-century school in a Colonial Revival/Shingle style design. Thus, the Ames School meets criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places. The Ames Schoolhouse was dedicated on Jüne 17th, 1896 to serve children in grades 1-6.

It was erected on the-site of a free school established in 1645 and tried to evoke Dedham's past in both its architectural style and its motto ("'1664" , The Ames SchooIhouse : 1897, named in honor of Fisher Ames, a native of Dedham, a wise statesman, and a friend of Washington"). Records of the dedication reveal that the style of the school was expected to inculcate patriotic virtues in the children who attended it. Funded by general taxation of the entire population, the first Dedham school predated the 1648 statewide decree establishing local public schools. By 1649, a sahoolhouse with a watch tower was built on the site of the present Ames School. Over the years, this became the First Middle School district, ah institution which continued until 1981, when the Ames School closed.

While Dedham is perhaps best known as a Colonial and Federal period town, it continued to develop in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a prosperous Boston suburb. During the 1880's and 1890's, Dedham outgrew its rural character. Then 6,000 people lived there, several factories rose in East Dedham, and each day 55 trains shuttled commuters to and from Boston. During this period, many fine buildings were constructed, including some highly soph- These included a high Victorian Gothic/Second Empire style Memorial Town Hall by Ware and Van Brunt in 1867 (demolished), a Romanesque Revival Style Public Library by Van Brunt and Howe in 1885 and a Neo- Classical style Registry of Deeds by Peabody & Stearns in 1905. In addition, a number of Renaissance and Colonial Revival style schools were commissioned by the town at the turn of the century.

These included the Oakdale School of 1902-04, the Quincy School of 1910 and the Dedham High School of 1915. The earliest and finest was the Ames Schoo1 of 1898. Unique in its wood frame, shingled construction, the Ames School represented the best in monumental turn-of-the-century schoolhouse design. It reflects the change from the medieval Romanesque and Gothic Revival styles to the classically inspired Renaissance and Georgian Revivial styles and represents a fully developed two story/raised basement formula with H-shaped plan to allow maximum air and light in the classrooms. continued....

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References Hanson, Robert Brank. Dedham, MA: 1635-1890. Dedham: 1976 Proceedings at the Dedication of the Ames Schoolhouse, Dedham, MA, June 17, 1898. Dedham: 1899. Stevens, John Calvin, and Cobb, Albert Winslow, Examples of American Domestic Architecture New York, NY 1889 10. Geographical Data 2.04 Acreage of nominated property Norwood Quadrangle name UT M References Quadrangle scale - 7.5. minute; 1:25000 scale AL19 |3295,7,9 Zone Easting LUL 14,67911,0,0 Northing Zone DLL F Easting Northing ELL GLI LLJLIlILL LNUILL Verbal boundary description and justification Please see attached copy of Dedham's assessor's map Current lot division excludes the firestation referenced on that map. See also attached topographical map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state code county code N/A state code county code 11.

Form Prepared By name/title Candace Jenkins, Registration Director with Philip Arcidi, Tufts University CBT, Architects organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date December, 1982 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone 617 727-8470 city or town Boston state. MA-, 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national _ state local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to tlee criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature Vatue R Weslowki title state Historic Preservation Officer For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Intered in the National Register date 2/24/83 3/31/83 date date Attest: Chief of Registration NPS Form10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Continuation sheet Ames Schoolhouse, Dedham Item number Page 1 Architects Luther Greenleaf and Albert Cobb maintained an office in Springfield, MA. from the 1890's through the early 20th century. Although little is known about Mr. Greenleaf, Cobb's career is somewhat better known. Cobb was born in Boston in 1868 and graduated from Tufts College in Medford. He studied architecture at.

M...I. and continued his training in the Boston offices of Peabody & Stearns, and later, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. At the age of 21, he formed a partnership with John Calvin Stevens, erecting buildings in the Boston area and Maine, and publishing a book entitled "Examples of American Domestic Architecture" in 1889. In the early 1890's, Cobb moved to Springfield and joined forces with Greenleaf. His obituary of 1941 cites the Ames School as their finest work. IATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES ue interies nited State ational Park Ames Schoolhouse Norfolk County MASSACHUSETTS EVALUATION / RETURN SHEET resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Working No. MAR Fed. Reg.

Date: 2- 7-8 Date Due: 3/31/83 4/16/83 Action: ACCEPT- 3/31/83 Entered in the - RETURN- National Register REJECT_ Federal Agency:- - sample _ request i_ appeal - NR decision Reviewer's comments: -Nomination returned for: Recom. / Criteria - Reviower. Discipline- Date se continuation sheet -technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. 3. Location Classification Prosont Uee 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys les fle property teon delamalned eligiche? - - 7. Description etertorate rudne mefteres Mered - moved te the prosont ad ertgtnal (ll tmews) ptayeteed aopoares summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8.

Significance erte allder Aral summary paragraph completeness Clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data ed property - MT Rederorse Porbet boand 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evetented se rlllesnoe of onie property wfttin one otnte le etate - - locai Metarte Pr eervatten Omcer 13. Other Maps - Photographs - Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to - Signed - Date- Phone: 202 272 - 3504 Comments for any Item may be continued on an attached sheet Ames Schoolhouse 450 Washington St., Dedham MA credit: Nash-Hirschield Assoc. 4.50 Washington St., Dedham MA photo #1 of 4 northern (front) and eastern elevs.

Ames Schoolhouse 4su Washington St., Dedham, MA credit: Nash-Hirschfeld Assoc. 450 Washington St., Dedham MA photo # 2 of 4 northern (front) elevation Ames Schoolhouse 4.50 Washington St., Dedham, MA credit: Nash-Hirschfeld Assoc. 45 Washington St., Dedham MA photo # 3 of 4 detail of main entrance, northern (front) elevation Ames Schoolhouse 4,5D Washington St., Dedham, MA credit: Nash-Hirschfeld Assoc. 450 Washington . St., Dedham, MA photo # 4 of 4 eastern and southern elevations Abbot WASHINGTON ST (Route LA) iros Plantings AMES SCHOOL HaUSI Arthur 89027 59ft 204 Acre: information bu Pilling Enginetring Cempany Inc 26 Norfolk st Dedham, Mass. Scale:linch:4o feet AMES SCHOOLHOUSE DEDHAM, MASS 1"= 40' CURRENT LAND DIVISION 20 Dedham sige hat me 97 05 207 Shall Company Pian N$. 917 - 1959 DEDHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS 02026 12 July 1982 Mr. Charles N.

Tseckares Childs Bertman Iseckares & Casendino Inc. 306 Dartmouth Street Boston, Mass. 02116 Dear Mr. Iseckares: The Dedham Historical Society is pleased to hear of your proposed work on the Ames School Building, and is further delighted by the sensitivity and concern you have shown for architectural and historic aspects of the building's impact on the neighborhood and the Town. It is always a pleasure to note the vibrant re-use of a local landmark (not to mention an architecturally significant structure), rather than to mourn its unceremonious demolition or aesthetic butchery. we fully support your endeavors with the Ames school, including your proposal to submit the building for National Register status, and we hope that you will feel free to call upon us for any assistance that we may be able to render. Yours truly, ziluf R Hansen Robert B. Hanson, President Ghs Tänteis- Gan-Ied 23.

Phase senfa Cor de ants Sicht Thartyors Il Touns ozpalication, Sent Daddress 1/0/82 Of Chase send all mid fu Ih Dare AL No mn hore alduss, Phils WHat chaumn DAC, 57 Hawal 1f Pethom mass ozo2b, It Conumn doest ave an offe un Il Tmn ol Philp au Katt charmen PedhomAestrelComnission 11 MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of the Secretary of State 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State February 24, 1983 Ms. Carol Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20243 Dear Ms.

Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Boston - Harvard Avenue Fire Station (Local) Dedham - Ames School (Local) Needham - Amos Fuller House (Local) Newbury - Hale-Boynton House (Local) Northbridge - Rockdale Common Housing District (Local) Springfield - Upper Worthington Historic District (Local) Winchester - Town Hall (Local) All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Comments received to date are attached to the nomina- tion forms. Sincerely, Candace lenkins Candace Jenkins Registration Director CJ/1k RECEIED AMDONAL RECISTER