Nomination for Felton 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 JAN 2E 1986 date entered FEB 2 T 1986 historic Hudson High School and or common Felton Street School (preferred) 2. Location street & number 20 Felton Street n/anot for publication city, town Hudson n/a vicinity of state Massachusetts 3. Classification Category Ownership district public X building(s) X private structure both site Public Acquisition object n/a in process being considered code 025 county Worcester code 027 Status X occupied - unoccupied work in progress Accessible - yes: restricted -.

yes: unrestricted X no Present Use agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial military museum -park x private residence religious scientific transportation - other: 4. Owner of Property name The Fafard Companies street & number 290 Elliot Street city, town Ashland n/a vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Worcester County Registry of Deeds street & number 2 Main Street Worcester city, town state 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Cultural Resource Inventory of title the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has this property been determined eligible? Massachusetts yes X no date 1978, Inventory #25 federal -X state county local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission, 80 Boylston Street city, town Boston state Massachusetts 7.

Description Felton Street School, Hudson, Massachusetts Condition excellent X good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered _altered Check one X original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Felton Street School in Hudson, Massachusetts, occupies an irregularly shaped lot on the west side of Felton Street, south of its junction with Russel1 Street. The building stands in a residential area slightly to the north of Hudson's commercial district. It is a free-standing structure 2 1/2 stories high, with brick bearing walls, wooden internal supports and a complex hip-on-hip roof. Elevations are faced with red brick laid up in common bond and trimmed with rock-faced brownstone; the roof is covered with tar and gravel on its upper slope (not visible from ground level), while the lower slopes are covered with slate. Sash throughout the school is wood-frame, consisting of 3/3 at the basement, 6/6 on the north, east and south elevations, and 8/8 on the west elevation.

The schoolhouse was built in two stages; the eastern half of the present structure was built as a four-room school in 1882, the western (rear) half was added in 1901 in the same style as the original building. The main facade (east elevation) is symmetrical about a central gabled pavilion that contains the main entry at ground level and an interior staircase above. The entry contains a metal door with fifteen glass lights flanked by five-pane sidelights (1984) set in a rectangular brick opening and surmounted by a decorative slate roof set on brackets. Above the entry are tripartite windows which are surmounted by a date panel of decorated terracotta tiles (made by the Boston Terra Cotta Works - 1882). At the attic, the gable contains paired windows set in an ornate brownstone surround with carved volutes.

Flanking the central pavillion are two single windows and two sets of tripartite windows per story. Decorative details include a brownstone plinth, a corbelled brick cornice and wooden brackets at the eaves of the gable. The south elevation is asymmetrical, consisting of a wall possessing a single window (6/6, 1984) at the first and second stories on the 1901 addition (west end) and a central ventilator/chimney flanked by single and tripartite windows on the 1882 section of the building. Both sections contain asymmetrically placed basement windows; there are dormers with hip roofs on both sections. Decorative details match those of the facade. The north elevation is a mirror image of the south elevation, with the exception that there is a blank brick wall above the basement in the 1901 addition.

The west elevation dates entirely from 1901 and consists of a central entry (metal door with fifteen glass lights and a five-pane sidelight, 1984) with a bracketed hood asymmetrically flanked by windows of varying sizes that reflect the interior locations of stairwells and former teachers' offices (south of the stairwells). Flanking the entry are seven asymetrically arranged windows at the first and second stories. At the roof are three dormers with hip roofs; each dormer has paired windows that contain 6/6 sash. Details of the rear addition match those of the facade, north and south elevations, except that windows of the west elevation are set in surrounds with arched heads rather than rectangular sandstone lintels, as is the case elsewhere on the building.

Continued NPS Form 10.900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use only received date entered Continuation sheet Felton Street School, Hudson, Massachusetts Item number 7 Page 1 Alterations to the Felton Street School have been minor. On the south elevation, two new windows have been cut at the first and second stories in a section of wall that was originally blank (1984). The appearances of the original main entry and rear entry are unknown; the present metal and glass doors (1984) replaced aluminum and glass doors dating from the mid twentieth century.

Prior to its 1984 renovation into residential use, the school's interior consisted of four classrooms at each story laid out around a central hallway connecting a main staircase (east) and a smaller rear staircase (west). Decorative finishes in the two staircases consist of solid railinas and wainscots of tongue-and-groove boarding (1882), ceilings and walls of pressed metal (1901). Finishes at the classrooms in both sections of the building consisted originally of hardwood floors, wainscots of tongue-and-groove boarding, pressed metal ceilings (added throughout in 1901), plaster walls and four-panel Following the renovation, the building contains twelve apartments arranged along a narrowed central hallway, with original finishes retained or re-set on new partitions.

Given the school's hilltop location adjacent to the Assabet River, and the relatively large size of the lot, there is a potential for prehistoric sites. Since few sites have been recovered in Hudson, any survivors would be siqnificant in helpina to reconstruct the patterns of prehistoric occupation in the town.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Felton Street School, Hudson, Massachusetts 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 X architecture X education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications X industry invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics government religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation X other (specify) Community Development Specific dates 1882, 1901 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder Architect Fuller & Delano The Felton Street School possesses integrity of design, materials, workmanship, location and historical associations with the civic development of the town of Hudson, Massachusetts. As the first high school in Hudson, and as a well-preserved example of school architecture with elements of the High the Mationai Register of istoric Places, wits sranificance at the local level. The town of Hudson was originally an agricultural section of the town of Marlborough. Rapid population growth in the 1850s, spurred by the introduction of the railroad and the subsequent arrival of several new firms related to the regional shoe industry, led to the town's incorporation of 1866. With continued industrial growth and the establishment of nine major factories by 1870, Hudson's immigrant population increased.

Most of these new residents were Irish and French Canadian. Large shoe factories and several textile companies were the major elements in Hudson's industrial expansion of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, spurred by the aggressive recruitment of new businesses by the Hudson Board of Trade. Constructed in 1882, the Felton Street School was Hudson's first high school building. It was built at the time of Hudson's conversion to a graded school system, and was one of four schools built in a fifteen year period.

The Street School was one of the largest and most substantially built public buildings in the town during the nineteenth century; the school 's establishment and its enlargement in 1901 reflect the increase in local population that accompanied the development of Hudson's shoe industry in the 1870s and 1880s and the development of the town's rubberized cloth industry in the 1890s and early twentieth century. The school served as a high school until 1957. After this the building was used as a grammar school until its closing in the mid-1970s. A well-preserved example of Victorian school architecture, the Felton Street School remains nearly unaltered since its enlargement in 1901. Designed in 1882 by the prominent architectural firm of Fuller & Delano of Worcester, the building possess decorative details of both the Victorian Gothic and Oueen Anne styles.

The original section of the school preserves carved and rock-faced brownstone trimmings, decorative terracotta tiles, corbelled brick cornices and an ornate hood over the main entry. Characteristic of Victorian school design, each end of the building has a chimney that originally provided ventilation to classrooms (before the building was enlarged and internal ventilation stacks constructed in 1901). The rear wing of the school, added in 1901, was designed to duplicate most details of the original building Continued 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Annual Report of the Selectmen of Hudson, 1883, 1884. Hudson Historic Properties Survey, 1978. On file at the Massachusetts Historical Commission. 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property approx, 15,500 sq. feet Quadrangle name Hudson, MA UT M References ^19] 12|818|41601 Zone Easting 416 |916|360| Northing Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 E GLL BLILLILL Easting -L LLILL FLL LILL HLLLIL LILL Northing LLILLL LLILu LILL Verbal boundary description and justification The nominated property includes only the lot on which the building stands.

The lot is five-sided, at the east running approximately 131.25' Felton Street, at the south approximately 118.75' along the property at 16 Felton Street, at the southwest approximately 162.5' along the property at 16 Felton Street, List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries(see continuation sheet) state N/A code county code state code county code 11. Form Prepared By name/title Kim Withers Brengle with Mary Kate Sampson, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission organization ACT for Massachusetts date February 1985, December 1985 45 School street & number Street telephone 617-523-8678 Boston city or town state Massachusetts 02108 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), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. State Historic Preservation Ofticer signature Valeri A lalmafe title Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission State Historic Preservation Officer date aM1. 22,1786 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Mearugyen HnSeted SALioM Fegisd date 2/27/86 Jakesper of the National Register Attest: date Chief of Registration U.S.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 419-311 NPS Form10.900-a (3-82) OMB No. 1024-00:8 Expires 10-31-37 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service For NPS use only National Register of Historic Places recelved Inventory-Nomination Form date entered Felton Street School Continuation sheet Hudson, Massachusetts Item number 8,10 Page 1 including corbelled cornices, a slate-covered hip roof, dormers with hip roofs and brownstone window trimmings. Much of the brownstone trim seems to have been taken as salvage from the original rear elevation and re-set in its present location. In 1984 the Felton Street School underwent a certified historic rehabilitation in accoradance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation; it presently contains twelve residential apartments.

VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION and 7-9 Lincoln Street, and the northwest approximately 37.5' along the property at 11-15 Russell Street, and at the north approximately 206.25' - See attached Sanborn Map for exact boundaries. Fia 15 -FELTON STREET 131.25' MAR.1929 HUDSON MASS. HUDSON HIGH 15z 902 nassno 37, ,6 32. V-- = = Felton Street School Hudson, Massachusetts Insurance Atlas of Hudson. Sanborn Map Co. 1929, up-dated to 1950 1" = 50' building indicated by cross-hatch L 118,75' (700~25 . = 17 -) -) LINCOLN-. TEOL" 86000275 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Felton Street School Worcester County MASSA CHUSETTS -resubmission - nomination by person or local government - owner objection - appeal Substantive Review: -sample Reviewer's comments: -request Working No. JAN 28 1986 Fed. Reg.

Date:3/3/87 Date Due: 22/86- 3/14/86 Entered 1a Action: LACCEPT -. 2-27-86 National Regieter RETURN REJECT. Federal Agency: Lappeal LNR 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? 7. Description Condition -excellent -good -fair - deteriorated -ruins unexposed Lyes -no Check one -unaltered -altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance J summary paragraph completeness L clarity -alterations/integrity - dates - boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one -original site - moved date 8.

Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Lsummary paragraph - completeness 8 S - clarity -applicable criteria -justification of areas checked J 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 title 13.

Other date -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 DO NOT ENTER Felton Street School 20 Felton Street Hudson, Massachusetts Photographer: B. R. Pfeiffer November, 1984 Negative on file at: A.C.T. for Massachusetts 45 School Street Boston, MA 02108 Photo Number 1 of Facade (east) and south elevations taken with photographer facing NW. JAN 2 8 1966 P 284880972 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer January 21, 1986 Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of Interior, National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, DC 20013-7127 Dear Ms.

Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Hudson, FELTON STREET SCHOOL, 20 Felton Street, HPCA completed # 0449 -83 -MA-83-0445, NPS prel iminary determination that huilding is a certified historic structure: 11/3/83. Pittsfield, BERKSHIRE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY BUILDINC 5--7 North Street, HPCA pending #0619-84 MA-84-0625, NPS preliminary determination that building is a certified historic structure: 9/28/84. Templeton, BALDWINVILLE VILLAC HISTORIC DISTRICT, Elm, Pleasant, Memor ial, South Main and Circle Streets. Al1 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 nomination forms. Sincerely, cuahf-c immermm Sarah J.

Zimmerman Director, Preservation Planner Massachusetts Historical Commission SJZ/1s enclosure 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470