Nomination for School Street School

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 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 SEP 25 1986 date entered OCT 2 3 1986 historic School Street School Same and or common 2. Location street & number 40 Schoo] Street N/A not for publication city, town Haverhill N/Avicinity of state Massachuseits 3.

Classification Category district X building(s) structure site object Ownership - public X private both Public Acquisition 1/Ain process - being considered code 025 county Essex code 009 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 X other: Vacant 4. Owner of Property name Charing Cross Corporation street & number 18 Crowninshield Street city, town Peabody N/Aicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Essex County Registry of Deeds street & number 32 Federal Street city, town Salem state Massachusetts 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys title Massachusetts Historical Commission Inventory has this property been determined eligible? yes X no date November 30, 1984 _ federal X - state - county local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Conmission, 80 Boylston Street, city, town Boston state Massachusetts 7. Description The School Street School, Haverhil1, Massachusetts Condition - excellent good X fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one _unaltered X altered Check one X original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The School Street School in Haverhill, Massachusetts, is a rectangular brick structure with a shallow hip roof. Built on a lot that slopes steeply from the north to south, the school is two stories high with a full basement; the latter is fully below grade at the north end but above grade at the southern end. Constructed in 1856, the building is a well-detailed example of the use of Italianate-style detailing in schoolhouse architecture. Its almost severe detailing, symmetry and lack of intricate ornamentation give this restrained building a sense of simple dignity. On all four facades, the building's bays are demarcated by monumental brick pilasters, which support a restrained brick entablature. Above this is a projecting cornice of wood, supported by heavy brackets.

The school is surmounted by a shallow hip roof, sheathed in asphalt shingles, and was originally crowned by a small cupola or bell tower, which was removed when the cpp ia or beif toven, wht. building was reroofed ca. 1915. At that time, the two central chimneys were enlarged for the installation of a new heating system. The primary east and west facades are identical. Each includes an array of stylized brick pilasters combined with rigidly symmetrical fenestration arrayed on either side of a large, shallow projecting central bay. The school's entrances, which are located at both east and west side within these projecting bays, are set within round-arched openings with prominent brownstone voussoirs and oversized keystones. Sturdy wood double doors are surmounted by glazed transoms.

On the top floor, each central bay holds a Palladian-inspired tripartite window grouping with a 12/12 window framed by two 8/8 windows. These and all other windows in the school, which have 12/12 wood sash, are framed by simple brownstone sills and lintels. The north and south facades of the school are four bays deep; again each bay is separated by brick pilasters. A cast-iron fire escape (added ca. 1915) is located at each end of the building. Two second-floor 12/12 windows at each end were altered ca. 1915 to provide access to the fire escapes through doors. On the south, or downhill facade, there are twin entrances to the basement level in the outer window bays. Inside, the school's upper two floors are identical in plan. A central hall divides the building at each level, with a stairway at each end. There are two classrooms on either side of the hall, a total of eight classrooms.

basement level holds restrooms and storage space. Interior finishes are The utilitarian and include wood-paneled doors throughout the building, window and door trim in all of the classrooms, fine wood railings on the two stairways continued NPS Form 10-800-- (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form School Street School Continuation sheet Haverhill, Massachusetts Item number OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 7 Page leading from the first to the second floors, and wainscotting lining the majority of the structure's walls. In 1915 the School Street School was modernized to a degree.

As noted above, changes included the removal of the cupola when a new roof was applied, the lengthening of one window to a door on the second level of each endwall in order to provide access to fire escapes, and the enlargenment of the central chimneys due to the introduction of a new heating system. The schoolyard has been altered over time. At the north end of the lot there is a concrete retaining wall. The stone walls and terracing date to the 1930s; they were built as W.P.A. projects. Most of the lot is surfaced with blacktop or packed dirt. The present owners of the School Street School have made plans to remodel the nominated property into condominiums using the investment tax credit. Proposed alterations of the interior include the removal of the coat closets and linoleum and for the retention of the wainscotting, door trim, and wood floors.

Archaeology Given the extensive terracing and 1andscaping done to the lot during the 1930s, the potential for survival of any significant prehistoric or historic archaeological site is unlikely.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance The School Street School, Haverhill, Massachusetts Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X-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 industry invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics/government Builder/Architect Joseph P. Richards religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation X other (specify) Community Development Specific dates 1856 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) The School Street School retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The building is historically significant for its associations with Haverhill's devel opment as an industrial town, its emergence as a major shoe manufacturing center, and its conmitment to public education in the mid to late 19th century through an indus triai tamifi cant for extensive municipal building program. The school is architecturally significant as an early and well-preserved example of Italianate styling in an educational building whose plan exhibits a progressive interest in healthful schoolhouse design. The building was designed by the regionally prominent architect Joseph P. Richards. The School Street School thus fulfils Criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places on the local level.

Prior to the construction of the nominated property, Haverhill's commitment to public education was longstanding. The earliest public school was established in 1660, and the first schoolhouse was built in 16/9. A School Committee was formed in 1789, and issued regulations setting out a course of study the following year. The opening decades of the 19th century saw Haverhill grow from an agriculture-based village to a manufacturing town. Shipbuilding, which had begun in the 1750s, reached its peak in 1800 with three shipyards in the central village and another at East Haverhill. Other early industries included tanning and hatmaking, but it was with the manufacture of shoes that Haverhill became most strongly identified.

This industry developed relatively s1owly in Haverhill; as late as 1794 there were reportedly only two shoemakers in the town, and their production was confined to supplying members of the conmunity. During the War of 1812, however, shoes began to be shipped to other cities and towns as far away as Philadelphia. Production was increased to meet the new demand, and shoe manufacturing grew from a cottage industry to factory production in shoe shops employing as many as thirty people. By 1837, there were 42 shoe manufacturers as well as related industries such as tanning thriving in Haverhill. The growth of the shoe industry attracted workers to Haverhill from the surroundingrural area, swelling the already increasingly population. An 1837 census shows a population of 4,726, up from 3,912 in 1830.

A mid 19th century local history by George Wingate Chase noted that "the large increase in the population of the town created a demand for more extensive and perfect school accomodations in the central district."1 To meet the demand, three smal1 its name). These buildings greatly expanded the public school system; Chase continued 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References See Continuation Sheet, 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property less than one acre Quadrangle name Haverhill, MA UT M References ^ L119| [3|310|51215| 417 /317 |700/ Zone Easting Northing CLI Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 LL Zone DLL LILuL Easting LLILLL Northing LILLLLL F LUL GLULLILLLILILIL Verbal boundary description and justification The property is bounded by School and Lindel Streets, the school yard and structure fills the entire area between the streetsand is bounded by private residences to the south. See, also, Asssessors' Map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state N/A code county code 11.

Form Prepared By Betsy rriedberg Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Commission, wich Frederick name/title Lyman, Preservation Consultant organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date July 1986 street & number 80 Boylston Street telephone 727-8470 city or town Boston state Massachusett.s 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 thecriteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Oticer signature Vdelue lalmage State Historic Preservation Officer title Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission date 9|19/80 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register lores Intered in the - aosan o ine Matiomal Reogiter Iational Registor date 10-23-86 Attest: date Chief of Registration GPO 911-399 NPS Ferm 10-800- (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nom StretiSno Form Street School Continuation sheet Haverhill, Massachusetts Item number OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 8 Page wrote that "previous to this the old building at the head of the common was the only public school house in the village.

situation: an 1873 report by the Massachusetts Board of Education noted that ne.vin ausetts Board oas This was not an uncommon sreoreanins nt et bart ed eute nag a the aga pro a tie e school-houses throughout the state schoolhouses in Haverhill, although simple two-room structures, reflected a growing concern for public educational facilities. The two rooms of the early building on School Street provided separate auarters for the primary and grammar schools, with an average attendance of forty pupils in each. The town soon outgrew these schoolhouses as well as its other facilities, and once again schoolrooms were overcrowded. The Washington Street School, which was enlarged in 1845, was finally torn down and replased by a two-story brick structure in 1849.

An attempt was made to enlarge the School Street School by removing the partition and making one large room for the grammar school, and turning the basement into the primary school. This proved to bå an unsatisfactory arrangement as the basement was "damp and unhealthy. The shoeindustry,which had suffered losses in the financial panic of 1831, had fully recovered by 1850. The California Gold Rush and the settlement of the American West opened new markets for goods manufactured in the industrial Northpusationd wealth an basid is, hety broves og erroducteon was gre erorth Production was greatly increased by the mechanization of the industry and the transition from small workshops to the factory system. By 1857, there were more than 90 shoe manufacturers in Haverhill, as well as a number of related industries.

This meant prosperity for the town, and much-needed new schools could finally be built to serve the growing population. A School Committee report of 1857 noted that "the rapidity of the increase of pupils demanding admission to our schools, is indeed surprising and may be regarded as an evidence of the thrift and industry of the town which draws towards it in consequence an emigration surpassing that of any in Essex County." These inmigrants were for the most part Irish and rapidly found employment in shoe factories. The report went on o say that the new schools were a matter of necessity dug to both population increase and "the imperfect nature of former structures. The O1d School Street School was torn down in 1855, and the following year two new schools were erected, one on the School Street site, and the other on Winter Street, at a cost of ahout $15,000 each.

Like the Washington Street School, these were two-story brick structures; however, they were much larger, and each contained several rooms. They were designed with careful continued NPS Ferm 10-800-0 (5-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form School Street School Continuation sheet Haverhill, Massachusetts Item number OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 8 consideration of health factors such as ventilation, light, and temperature control. The School Committee Report of 1857 described the opening of the School Street School: A large group of happy scholars greeted their teachers at the very commencement.

On leaving their former school quarters, in basements and rooms, inconvenient, crowded, and imperfectly ventilated, they felt that a new era had dawned, and that the school-room was no longer regarded as a place repulsive and forbidding in its nature--a place where the air and sunshine was debarred from entrance, but a healthful, attractive place of study? The schools were set up on the then-modern grading system, with three grades-- grammar, intermediate, and primary--subdivided into smaller divisions. Each division had a separate room, with closets. A large hall provided space for the entire school to assemble, and the basement space could be used as playrooms when the weather did not permit recess to be held in the 1arge schoolyard. The town of Haverhil1 took great pride in the new schools.

According to the School Committee Report of 1857, "the expenditure of so large a sum of $30,000 for school houses in a single season, particularly distinguished the town, as it respects a liberal provision for educational purposes." The new schools may have represented the latest theories in education and public health, butthe report went ontowarn that "ample, and even extravagant, the provision was thought by some to be, a single year's experience shows that the time is not distant when additional room will be required."8 Space, ventilation, and light were the primary concerns for the School Street School, but questions of style were not overlooked. In his design, Boston architect Joseph P. Richards applied Italianate-style decorative features to che simple rectangular brick block. Richards, who began his career in the office of the prominent 19th centurv architect Gridley J. F.

Bryant, had beer the head draftsman of the Charles Street Jail and other notable Bryant buildings. By 1856, Richards had established his own firm, with an office in Boston at 41 Court Street, on the corner of Tremont Street. Richards was involved in the Richardsonian Romanesque addition to the 1864 Sudbury Public Library in 1882. Little else is known of his career. The School Street School is Richards' only known school building. Haverhill and its industry continued to grow throughout the remainder of the 19th century.

By 1870, the year in which it was incorporated as a city, Haverhill had earned a reputation as the "Queen Shoe City." Additional schools were built to accommodate the increasing population; attendance at the 2 Page continued NPS Form 10-000- (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form School Street School Continuation sheet Haverhill, Massachusetts Item number OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 8 Page 3 School Street School was kept to around 300 pupils to avoid overcrowding. In 1870, the newly formed City School Committee recommended consolidating schools and closing ungraded one- or two-room schoolhouses, but the proposal was strongly resisted by parents and the small schoolhouses continued to operate until well into the 20th century, often with just a handful of pupils.

In contrast to this, the School Street School continued to be regarded as one of the most modern schools in Haverhill and remained among the largest. Thepopulation of Haverhill increased dramatically between 1870 (13,092) and 1890 (27,320), as new waves. of immigration brought Italian and Eastern European workers to the city's shoe factories. The school system faced several problems in addition to overcrowding. Truancy was frequently cited, although many of the "truants" were hard at work in the factories. An attempt was made to hold factory owners responsible for child laborers who were supposed to be in school, but this does not seem to have been successful. The new immigrants often did not speak English, and the 1anguage barrier contributed to a high illiteracy rate.

Evening and trade schools were organized to help reach the child laborers and early dropouts, as well as illiterate adults. By the late 1880s, parochial schools began drawing many pupils away from the public schools. The school system expanded in 1897 with the inclusion of the schools in Bradford, a town annexed by Haverhill in 1897. In 1930, it was recommended by the School Committee that the School and Winter Street schools be replaced by more modern structures, but the Depression prevented this from taking place. The School Street School continued to function in its role as a grammar school, and the neighborhood surrounding it remained for the most part residential. The school went from being one of only four public schools at the time of its construction to being one of twenty-five by 1940.

A decline in public school enrollment, from 6,500 in 1924 to 3,800 in 1946, had little impact on the School Street School, which because of its fairly central location continued to have attendance of between 200 and 300 students. The school was in use until 1981, when it was finally closed due to a general decline in the school-age population. The School Street School, which today stands as one of the two oldest public chool structures in Haverhill (the other being the Winter Street School), testifies to the important role that public education nlaved in the town' development. The building is architecturally significant as a well-detailed example of Italianate-style schoolhouse architecture, whose carefully thought-out design reflects the latest trends in mid 19th century educational theory. The school's Boston-based architect, Joseph P.

Richards, considered concerns of light and ventilation as well as style in his well-conceived plans. The building's 1arge windows, symmetrical arrangement of 1arge continued NPS Form 10-800-0 (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form School Street Scho0l Continuation sheet Haverhill, Massachusetts Item number OMBApproval No. 1024-0018 8 Page 4 classroom spaces, cloakrooms, assembly halls, and play and storage areas were all designed to provide a healthful environment for education. In addition, fine Italianate-style detailing, unified by brick pilasters on all four Street school from other Haverhill educational buildings of the mid 19th ganat eho ras eter areni r eandr shallow hipped roof, distinguish the School century and later.

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 School Street School Continuation sheet Haverhill, MA Item number OMB ApprovalNo. 1024-0018 8 Page 5 F00 TNO TES 1. George Wingate Chase, The History of Haverhill, Haverhill, MA, 1861, p. 513. 2. Ibid. Report of the General Agent of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Wright & Potter, Boston, 1873. 4. Chase, p. 513. 5. Chase, p. 532. Report of the School Committee of the Town of Haverhill, Haverhill, MA, 1857, pp. 14-15. 7. Ibid., p. 10. 8. Ibid., pp. 14-15. NPS Form 10-800-8 (3-82) United States Department of the interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form School Street School Continuation sheet Haverhill, MA Item number OMB Approval No.

1024-0018 9 Page MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC SOURCES Chase, George Wingate. The History of Haverhill. Haverhill, Mass. 1861. Freeman, Donald C. History of the Education in Haverhill. Haverhill, Mass. 1970. Haverhill Board of Trade. Haverhill - An Industrial and Commercial Center. 1889. Haverhill School Committee. Report of the School Committee of the Town of Haverhill. Haverhi11, Mass. T857. Report of the General Agent of the Massachusetts Board of Education. Wright & Potter. Boston. 1873. City of Havehill Assesor's Map (1978) scale: 1" = 100 ft.

") 12"vCPpe-~ 37 38 40 LINDEL Sewer (4C-143) 4/ STRE 12"VC Pipe Sewer (1929) SCHOOL 1 Haverhill Assessor's Map Scale: 1" = 100' 4 32 Zue Sauan 'Ve ANe SEr SCHOOL STREET (46-346) (1920) 33 37 39 3 School Street Haverhill, MA School Street School ET 86002922 WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET School Street School Essex County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: L sample Reviewer's comments: request SEP 25 986 Working No._ red. Reg. Date:040488 Date Due: 10/23/86 - 11/9/86 Intered In EnAction: LACCEPT_ 10-23-86 Mational Register -RETURN _REJECT Federal Agency: . -appeal 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 1. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one J 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 -original site I 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 J 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 HIDioRneTRi OA Cjpse This Scp0 School Street School, Haverhill, MA Door on East Facade School Street School School Street Haverhill, MA date: March, 1986 photographer: American Landmarks, Inc. and negatives 167 Milk Street stored at: Boston, MA 02114 view of door on East facade photo #1 of 2 OFFICE CONDOMINIUMS FOR SALE MALSON 374-0112 School North a School Street School School Street Haverhill, MA date: March, 1986 photographer: American Landmarks, Inc. & negatives 167 Milk Street -stored Boston, MA 02114 view of North and West facades photo #2 of 2