Nomination for Pleasant Street School

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 DEC 23 1985 date entered JAN 23 1986 historic Pleasant Street School and or common same 2. Location street & number Pleasant Street N/A not for publication city, town Ayer N/ Avicinity of state Massachusetts 3.

Classification Category Ownership district x public * building(s) private structure both site Public Acquisition object in process N/ Abeing considered code 025 county Middlesex code 017 Status - occupied X unoccupied .work in progress Accessible X yes: restricted -- yes: unrestricted no Present Use agriculture commercial X educational entertainment government industrial military X museum park private residence religious scientific transportation other: vacant 4. Owner of Property name Town of Ayer street & number Town Hall, Main Street city, town Ayer N/Avicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Middlesex South District Registry of Deeds street & number 208 Cambridge Street city, town Cambridge 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets of title the Commonwealth of Massachusetts #2has this property been determined eligible? date 1985 _ federal X state stateMassachusetts 02141 - yes X no - county - local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission, 80 Boylston Street city, town Boston state Massachusetts 7. Description Pleasant Street Schoo1, Ayer, Massachusetts Condition excellent ogood & fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one X unaltered altered Check one X original site moved date Descre PeasesetStreeScooretr frame Clnal Revival Street building. Rectangular in form with stairhall projections at each end, the building rises to a broad hipped roof with large gabled dormers. faces east and occupies a generous lot which is bordered by a low chain link fence, large deciduous trees, and shrubbery.

The area immediately surrounding the school is paved while the northern half of the lot is an open, grassy field. The school is located in the midst of a neighborhood of late 19th century residences that constitute Ayer's town center. Less than a half mile to the south is the main shopping and commercial district of Ayer, a smali working class community some 35 miles northeast of Boston. Ayer is also the location of Massachusett's largest military installation, Fort Devens. The Pleasant Street School exhibits a symmetrical four bay by three bay rectangular plan that is the result of two major builds. The design was pragmatically conceived in two sections, the first section constructed in 1893 and the second to be constructed when needed. first with the northern half added in 1906.

with narrow clapboards, rises two stories from an exposed foundation to a broad hipped roof with a central deck. A narrow central chimney and seven gable roofed dormers pierce the roof, which is sheathed with TELER The southern half was built The building, which is sheathed fieldstone asphalt shingles. Originally, the deck was encircled by an open balustrade. Projecting from the north and southwalls are two flat-roofed stairtowers supported on piers. At the rear, a onestoryenclosed staircase leads from the first floor to the basement level. On the facade, a flat-roofed open porch (1953-1954) shelters the offset entrance to the school. Detailing throughout the school is Colonial Revival in style. Narrow cornerboards define the corners of the building and support a wide fascia encircling the building. A deep boxed cornice with dentils surmounts the fascia.

Similar dentilated cornices frame the large dormers and their pediments. Contained within the pediments of the facade dormers are wooden torches in relief. On the facade, remnants of Ionic capitals top the cornerboards. In the main block and stairtowers, the windows contain wooden double hung 6/2 sash, while the dormers are set with smaller 8/2 double hung sash. A distinctive feature of the building is the pattern created by combinations of banded windows in sets of three, four, and five. Small square fixed sash with radiating starburst mullions further enliven the front and rear facades. The main (east) elevation is six bays wide. The central two bays contain, on the second floor, a pair of tripartite windows. These consist of a central rectangular window flanked by smaller windows set over fielded panels.

On the first floor, a flat-roofed porch with clustered columns shelters the school's Continued NPS Form 10-900-8 (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Pleasant Street School Continuation sheet Ayer, Massachusetts Item number 7 OMB NO. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 Far NPS use only received /4/43/8i date entered /23/8- Page 1 entrance. Balustrades once circled the roof and base of the porch. Large pedimented dormers with four banded windows surmount the next two bays while the outermost bays contain banded sets of four windows on the first and second floors. The north elevation, of three bays width, is dominated by the projecting stairtower in the central bay. Centered above the stairtower on the roof is a pedimented dormer containing a band of three small 6/2 windows.

A shed-roofed extension gives access from the dormer to the stairtower. The stairtower is gained by a flight of steps leading to a door in the base of the tower. stairtowers were added at both ends when the north half of the school was built in 1906. Classroom bays, marked by long bands of five windows each, flank the stairtower on both floors. The rear (west) elevation has seen the greatest alteration. A protecting metal ventilator stack (for the cafeteria kitchen) and an enclosed stair leading from the first floor to the basement detract from the appearance of this elevation. Though also six bays in width, the rear wall lacks the symmetry of the facade. The outer two bays contain five-part window bands lighting corner classrooms.

However, the interior bays are unevenly filled with tripartite window bands on the second floor and a four-part window and the projecting stair enclosure on the first. Because the site slopes down to the west, the basement story on the west is exposed and finished with clapboards. The basement level contains two windows and three doors. The three-bay-wide south elevation, part of the original build, differs slightly from its northern counterpart. than five, windows flank the central stairtower. Another difference is the placement of two smaller dormers to either side of the stairtower rather than mena to elther stoe f Two classroom bays with four, rather a single large dormer above the stairtower, as on the north wall. Once completed in 1906, the only major alterations to the school occurred in 1953-1954.

At the time, the interior of the school was renovated with new wiring and lighting and with the addition of cafeteria and classroom facilities in the basement. Exterior alterations done at that time include the addition of the present entrance porch and the closing of one of the two entrances to leave a single offset entrance in the fourth (from the left) facade bay. The need to upgrade means of egress from the school seems account for changes made to the north stairtower and dormer and to west wall with its enclosed stair. The school has been vacant since 1981 and suffers from lack of maintenance. 8.

Significance Pleasant Street Schoo1, Ayer, Massachusetts Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 1800-1899 x1900 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 Builder/Architect landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics/government religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specity) Specific dates 1893, 1906 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Unknown The Pleasant Street School is a large well detailed example of Colonial Revival school architecture. Though modest in design, the school is, within the local context, one of Ayer's three outstanding municipal buildings, the others being the town's 1876 Panel Brick Town Hall and ca. 1900 Renaissance Revival Library. Historically, the school is notable as the town's last remaining intact 19th century school building. (While an earlier, mid-19th century frame 'school also stands in the town, it has been converted to residential use and no longer retains integrity as a school.) The Pleasant StreetSchool reflects the late 19th century prosperity of Ayer, an important railroad transportation center in Middlesex County throughout the last half of the 19th century. The school retains integrity of location, design, materials, setting, workmanship and association.

It meets National Register Criterion Con the local level. The Pleasant Street School was built in two stages, with the south section completed in1893 and the north section in 1906. "The school was built on a site donated to the town by John A. Park, a local doctor whose family was prominent in the early history of the area. Park donated the site as an expression of his support for free public education. The school was constructed to house both grade and high school classes. It continued in its dual function until 1931, when a separate high school building was constructed. Elementary-level classes were held in the school until its closing in 1981. The school has been vacant since that time. The Town of Ayer experienced its most prolific development in the period between 1845 and 1930. Originally part of Groton, Massachusetts, Ayer was first know as South Groton.

Extremely sparsely settled throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, South Groton supported a very small population of farmers in dispersed farmsteads. As late as 1854, the area had a population of only 100. This began to change after 1845 when the Fitchburg Railroad was laid through South Groton. By 1855, four railroads had been laid through the area: the Fitchburg, running east and west, and three lesser lines running north and south, mainly between worcester and Nashua, New Hampshire. Fortuitously for South Groton, the lines intersected at the tiny village center thereafter known as Groton Junction. Population grew rapidly as railroad-related support services and a tannery congregated at the junction. In 1869, a census showed that Groton Junction held 1,890 of the surrounding area's 2,011 residents.

Residents successfully petitioned for separation from Groton and, in 1871, incorporated as the Town of Ayer. Continued 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Ayer Town Reports Ralph H. Richardson, Public Spirit. Ayer School Department Records 10. Geographical Data 3 Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name - Ayer UT M References A L19 L2/876,0,0 Zone Easting CULLIL ELIJ 4711541410 Northing LILLL Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 B Zone LILL Easting Northing -LLdLIlILu FLU LIILE LILILIL HLULLILLU LILILE Verbal boundary description and justification See attached assessor's map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state code county code 11. Form Prepared By Sarah J. Zimmerman, Director of Preservation Planning, Massachusetts Historical Comm. with Frank F.

Maxant, Chairman, Ayer Historical Commission organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date November, 1985 street & number 80 Boylston Street telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town Boston state Massachusetts 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national - state X local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665),Ihereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according tothe criteria and procedures set forth by the NationalPark Service.

State Historic Preservation Oricer signature Valerie A lalmage Executive Director title date 2-13-85 State Historic Preservation Officer For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Telorer 1 date 1-23-86 Keeper of the National Register Attest: Chief of Registration date U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 419-311 NPS Form10.900-8 (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Pleasant Street School Continuation sheet Ayer, Massachusetts Item number 8 OMB NO. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 Far NPS use anly received /4/-7/85 date entered /-3/ p- Page 1 The town continued to grow thorough the early 20th century, though not at the rate experienced between 1854 and 1869.

While the local economy supported some diversity ofmanufacturing interest (a short-lived plow factory, furniture factories, ice-cutting operations, and the aforementioned tannery), by far the most important employer in the town was the railroads. Extensive railroad facilities just south of the town center were said to provide the 1argest classification yard in New England. As a result of the railroads' introduction, settlement around the Junction grew rapidly to encompass a small commercial district on Main Street with a residential neighborhood to the north, between Park and Washington Streets. This neighborhood of simple side-hall Italianate and Queen Anne cottages and houses occupies approximately 20 blocks, in the midst of which is located the Pleasant Street School. Architecturally, the school far surpasses its neighbors in scale and architectural distinction.

Conceived of as a two-part design, the school was pragmatically planned to be expanded as an increasing population of school children demanded. At the time of its construction, the Pleasant Street School was the fourth school standing in the town. The other three were simpler district schools of brick (1859; 1867) or frame (1852; raised to two stories, 1865) construction. The Pleasant Street School was by far the most sophisticated of these and incorporated an up-to-date plan with large, well-lighted classrooms and a modern ventilation and heating system. The architect of this building is unknown, but early photographs of the building show it to be a handsome and carefully executed structure with Georgian Revival roof balustrades and porch detail.

As Ayer's most distinguished educational building and one of its finest municipal buildings and as a reflection of Ayer's late 19th century growth and prosperity, the Pleasant Street School meritslisting on the National Register of Historic Places. WASO Form - 177 ('R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Pleasant Street School Middlesex County MASSA CHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: sample Reviewer's comments: Lrequest Satered i Vtens1 Lappeal Working No. DEG 2,3 1985 Fed. Reg. Date:2/3/82 Date Due: /23/86 - Action: 2/6/86 -ACCEPT 1-23-86 -RETURN Ceber - REJECT Federal Agency: _ -NR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer. Discipline.

Date see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: _ technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7. Description Condition - excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one J original site moved date 8.

Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Builder/Architect 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 Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state _local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13. Other - Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to .

Signed - Date - Phone: GPO 918-450 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Property Name: Pleasant st. School Street Address: Pleasant Street Community: Ayer, Massachusetts Photographer: T. Kent Hikida 7/85 location of neg.- Ayer Historical Commission Photo number 1 of 8 Description of view: North Facade partial view of Pleasant st (East) entrance facade. Property name: Pleasant Street School Street Address: Pleasant Street Community: Ayer, Massachusetts Photographer: I. Kent Hikida 7/85 Iocation of neg.- Ayer Historical Commission Photo number 2 of 8 Description of view: Rear facade (West elevation). Property name: Pleasant StreSchool Street Address: Pleasant Street Community: Ayer, Massachusetts Photographer: I.

Kent Hikida 7/85 Iocation of Neg.- Ayer Historical Commission Photo number 3 of 8 Description of view: Southwest corner Old foundation; South stair tower small dormer. Property name: Pleasant St. School Street Address: Pleasant Street Community: Ayer, Massachusetts PL Photographer: I. Keht Hikida 7/85 Location of neg.- Ayer Historical Commission Photo number 4 of 8 Description of view: Southeast corner Large and small dormers; chimney; Pleasant St. street edge. Property name: Pleasant St. School Street Address: Pleasant Street Community; Ayer, Massachusetts Photographer: I. Kent Hikida 7/85 Location of Neg.- Ayer Historical Commission Photo number 5 of 8 Description of view: Southeast corner detail; dormer & window details; cornice detail; corner pilaster detail. Property name: Pleasant St. Schook Street Address: Pleasant Street Community: Ayer, Massachusetts Photographer: T.

Kent Hikida 7/85 Location of Neg.- Ayer Historical Commission Photo number 6 of 8 Description of view: Entrance from Pleasant Street; Northeastern large dormer. Property name: Pleasant St. School Street Address: Pleasant Street Community: Ayer, Massachusetts Photographer: I. Kent Hikida 7/85 Location of Negative: Ayer Historical Commission Photo number 7 of 8 Description of view: Portico entrance Pleasant Street. Property name: Pleasant St. School Street address: Pleasant Street Community: Ayer, Massachusetts Photographer: I. Keht Hikida 7/85 Iocation of negative: Ayer Historical Commission Photo number 8 of 8 Description of view: detailed view oof Large northeastern dormer; cornice detail.