Nomination for Rockland High School

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 8-86) 217 OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form FEB 2 1 1989 NATIONAL REGISTER This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations of eligibility for individual properties or districts. See instructions in Guidelines for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. If an item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable."For functions, styles, materials, and areas of significance,enter only the categories and subcategories listed in the instructions. For additional space use continuation sheets (Form 10-900a). Type all entries. 1.

Name of Property historic name THE ROCKLAND HIGH SCHOOL (PREFERRED) other names/site number THE MCKINLEY SCHOOL 2. Location street & number city, town state MASS 394 UNION STREET ROCKLAND code 025 county PLYMOUTH code N/A not for publication N/A vicinity 023 zip code 02370 3. Classification Ownership of Property private X public-local public-State public-Federal Category of Property X building(s) district site structure object Name of related multiple property listing: N/A Number of Resources within Property Contributing Noncontributing 1 O buildings sites structures objects Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register_ 0 4.

State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, 1 hereby certify that this * nomination request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register ofHistoric Places and meets theprocedural and professional requirements setforthin 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. see continuation sheet. vallue A demage Signature of certifying official 28/89 Date EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. See continuation sheet. Signature of commenting or other official Date State or Federal agency and bureau 5.

National Park Service Certification 1, nereby, certity that this property is: entered in the National Register. See continuation sheet. determined eligible for the National Register. See continuation sheet. determined not eligible for the National Register. Xelnu Byar Entered in the National Register 3/23/89 removed from the National Register. other, (explain:) Date of Action 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (enter categories from instructions) Education: Secondary School Rockland High School, Rockland, MA Current Functions (enter categories from instructions) Education: Secondary School 7.

Description Architectural Classification (enter categories from instructions) Late 19th & Early 20th Century Revival Colonial Revival Materials (enter categories from instructions) foundation Granite walls- Red Brick roof_ other Slate Cast Stone / Tinted Mortar Describe present and historic physical appearance. The Rockland High School, built in 1908, is located at 394 Union Street in Rockland, Massachusetts. The stretch of Union Street that constitutes the town's commercial center (between Water Street and North Street) a scattered collection of commercial buildings, many of which are converted nineteenth century residential buildings or mid-twentieth century construction. Al though there are other historic properties in the immediate vicinity, a cohesive district does not survive. .

The secondary streets surrounding the commercial center are residential in character, comprised primarily of late-nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings of modest style. The school is two . stories in height, rectangular in plan, and rises to a slate-covered hip roof, to which shed dormers have been added at each elevation. The main block of the building is 102' wide and 80' deep, while the original near ell is 40'wide by 27' deep. Designed in the Colonial Revival style, the school is constructed of red brick set with a tinted mortar and is trimmed with cast stone elements. The school is set back approximately 120 feet from Union Street, and is centered on its 59,072-square-foot lot, which is nearly rectangular. Behind the school the lot slopes sharply downward. Much of the front yard has been paved for parking.

A three-story aluminum-clad addition was constructed at the rear elevation in 1973. The facade (east elevation) is composed symmetrically around a central pavilion which contains the school's main entry. Within the pavilion two monumental Ionic columns and two wide brick piers support a pediment with. wide dentilled cornices. The main entry, consisting of modern aluminum doors beneath the original four-part ornamental transom, is set within a wooden enframement formed by bracketed pilasters supporting a shallow hood. Flanking the entry are two window openings, each contains a two-pane fixed sash and a two-pane fixed transom above an narrow operable panel. On the second story, the pavilion has five windows, each of which contains a single-pane fixed sash and transom above an operable panel. All window openings are framed by cast. stone sills and brick heads with cast stone keystones.

:ch1 Lxl See continuation sheet NPS Form (8-60) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - 7 Page - ROCKLAND HIGH SCHOOL -pref.- ROCKLAND, MA Two identical wings flank the central pavilion. Both wings have three bays with one window opening on each story (including the basement). Windows at the first and second story are identical to those at first story of the pavilion. The north and south elevations are nearly identical, each has symmetrical fenestration and detailling identical to that of the facade. As originally constructed the basement contained the gymnasium, locker rooms and manual training rooms. At the upper stories, classrooms and offices extended off a wide central corridor, running north to south.

At the first story, the principal and superintendent of schools each had an office on either side of the entry vestibule. An assembly hall was located on the west side of the corridor with the rear ell. The second story housed the library and fourlarge classrooms. The third story was taken up by commercial and scientific laboratories. The interior has recently been altered and the building converted to a center for handicapped children. Although surface treatments have been changed the arrangement of spaces within the building remains. Within the classrooms, chalkboards, wood trim, crown molding, and tin ceilings remain. The three entrance vestibules retain panelled wall finishes and original door surrounds.

Continued NPS Form 10-000e (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number_1 Page 2 OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Rockland High School-PREFERRED- (The McKinley School) Rockland, MA Archeological Statement No prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the property or in the town of Rockland. The lack of sites likely results from underreporting, more sites probably exist. In general, however, the potential for prehistoric or historic sites seem low as a result of the rather small size of the parcel (approximately 1.36 acres), the size of the school and its impact on the property, paving in front of the school and because the land behind the school slopes sharply downward. Rockland High School, Rockland, MA 8. Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

Certifying official has considered the significance of this property in relation to other properties: nationally statewide X locally Applicable National Register Criteria Criteria Considerations (Exceptions) Areas of Significance (enter categories from instructions) Architecture Education Period of Significance 1908-1939 Significant Dates Cultural Affiliation N/A Significant Person N/A Architect/Builder Cooper & Bailey State significance ofproperty, and justify criteria, criteria considerations, and areas and periods of significance noted above. The Rockland High School possesses integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship, and association with the development of Rockland (formerly East Abington) as an independent town.

In addition, the school 1s one of Rockland's most impressive architectural examples having been designed by Frank Irving Cooper, one of New England's most prominent architects of educational buildings. The Rockland High School is of local significance and meets criteria A and C for the National Register of Historic Places. Rocklandis a town occupying about ten square miles, located approximately twenty miles southeast of Boston. Prior to 1874, Rockland formed the east Ward of the town of Abington and was known as East Abington. Settled in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the area was attractive for its rich woodlands and developed a lumber industry early in its history. The shoe manufacturing industry first appeared in Rockland in the late eighteenth century and became the focus of the community's economy bythe mid-nineteenth century.

Rockland was incorporated in 1874 as the result of a dispute over the construction of an expensive school building in Abington Center in 1871 and the belief that East Abington could develop into"a more successful industrial community if separate from Abington. The late nineteenth and early twenieth centuries saw the continued dominance of the shoe industry with fewer, but larger, manufacturers and an increase in related industries such as the Ihompson Shoe Shine ractory and s. E. Packard & sons paper box tactory- Rockland's most prosperous period included the years leading up to and including World War I. The subsequent years of the Great Depression resul ted in the decline of the local shoe industry. At the time that Rockland was incorporated there were approximately 4300 residents.

A count of the school houses existing in the town at that time revealed eight, only one of which had a high school program. The new town's concern for proper education is reflected in the earliest by-laws which state that "habitual truants" between the ages of 7 and 15 were to be punished by a fine of up to $20 or committed to "such institutions of sastbhintaldh Steehouse of reformation" as the town should choose. In the town appropriations for 1875, $1,800 was set aside for the construction of a new school house. This Rockland High School, Rockland, MA

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References CAMPBELL, MARTHA G., "THE STORY OF THE ROCKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS -PART III" Arlington Massachusetts: 1977. HURD, D. HAMILTON. HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.,Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis & Co., 1884. ROCKLAND STANDARD, October 1, 1909. TOWN OF ROCKLAND REPORTS, ROCKLAND, MA: 1907-1908. Previous documentation on file (NPS): preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested previously listed in the National Register previously determined eligible by the National Register designated a National Historic Landmark recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # 10. Geographical Data Acreage of property 1.25 Acres (59,072 sq.

ft.) UTM References USGS Quad: Weymouth, MA A19 341520 Zone L416617 8610 Easting Northing See continuation sheet Primary location of additional data: State historic preservation office Other State agency Federal agency Local government University Other Specify repository: Mass. Historical Commission B D Zone Easting Northing See continuation sheet Verbal Boundary Description Begining at a point on the west side of Union Street 130 feet north of its intersection with Belmont Street, runningnorth 140 feet, then west approximately 425 feet, then south approximately 144 feet, then east approximately 405 feet to Union Street and the begining. See continuation sheet Boundary Justification The boundary includes the present lot on which the Rockland High School stands. See continuation sheet 11.

Form Prepared By name/title Christine Scott Beard, Preservation Consultant w/ Betsy Friedberg NR Director at MHC organization Mass. Historical Commission date Januagy,2727184% street & number80 Boylston St telephone city or town Boston state MA zip code 02116 NPS Form 10-000e (8-65) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number _ Page _1 ROCKLAND, MASS. THE KOCKLAND HIGH SCHOOL-pref.- (MCKINLEY SCHOOL) one-room wooden school building was constructed near the junction of Central and Centre Streets to house a "mixed" or ungraded group of children. Nearly 40 students of grades 1 through 4, taught by one teacher, were in regular attendance. The period from 1874 to 1898 was characterized by a desperate race to provide facilities for the rapidly growing school population.

In 1880 a second story was added to the existing Primary school at 16 Summit Street, in order to house a grammar class. By 1884 additional grammar school space was needed and the the second floor of the former I. & N. S. Jenkins shoe factory, located behind 58 Union Street, was rented at this time. In 1886 the growing need additional Primary, Intermediate, and Grammar classes resulted in the construction of a one room school house at the corner of Howard and Church In 1890 one of the small schools which had been erected in 1853 was In its place the Gleason School was constructed, a two-story, two-room school house. It was not until 1893 that the crowded conditions finally caused the town to erect a High School building. The so-called "Lincoln Building" was built on the corner of Church and Howard Streets.

By the turn of the century, there were approximately 900 children in Rockland between the ages of 5 and 15 who were being educated in the local school system. A 1903 map of Rockland shows 11 school buildings in use, all of which were constructed prior to 1893. In a town meeting on March 2, 1903, residents voted an appropriation of $60,000 to erect a new High School building which would then permit shifting of the lower grades to the Lincoln Building, and both the Gleason and "Church Street" buildings could be relegated to disuse. A committee of five residents was named to select an appropriate site for the new school; the committee included Daniel M. 0'Brien, Frank A. Sheldon, Frank P. Lewis, James W. Spence, and Alfred W. Donovan.

Of the five locations recommended, the Handel Pool lot, located on the west side of Union Street between North Avenue and Belmont Street, was chosen "by a decisive expression of preference" Continued NPS Form 10900e (8-45) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 2 Section number Page THE ROCKLAND HIGH SCHOOL-pref.- (THE MCKINLEY SCHOOL) ROCKLAND, MASS. The committee secured the Boston architectural firm of Cooper & Bailey for the design of the new Rockland High School. Frank Irving Cooper, principal of the architectual firm, was widely known throughout New England as an expert in school design. Cooper obtained his architectural training in the office of Henry H. Richardson and later worked as a draftsman in the Boston office of Henry Ban Brunt and with the firm of Shipley, Rutan & Coolidge.

In 1890 Cooper opened his first office in Pittsburgh where he was employed by George Westinghouse to design an industrial building. He returned to Boston two years later, upon receiving a commission to design the Bristol County Court House in Taunton, MA. He continued to practice independently until 1899 when he formed a partnership with Elmer Smith Bailey. Cooper & Bailey worked in association until 1914. In 1916 Cooper established the Frank Irving Cooper Corporation which operated until his death in 1933. Thoughout his career, Cooper designed an impressive number of public and educational buildings, comprising public halls, college buildings, dormitories, administration buildings and about two hundred elementary and high schools throughout New England.

Among his works are: the Public Library at Medford, Massachusetts; Clark Pathological Laboratory at Amherst College; Weaver and Buckley High Schools at Hartford, Connecticut; High School at Bristol, Rhode Island; High Schools at Bennington, Vermont, Lancaster and Claremont, New Hampshire, Beverly, Brockton and Peabody, Massachusetts and at Stratford, Simbury and Norwalk, Connecticut, together with many intermediate grade school in various locations. The three-story brick building which Cooper & Bailey designed for Rockland was the town's first brick school house. Builders Mead, Mason & Company were awarded the general contract for $51,200. Ground was broken on August 12, 1908 and the cornerstone was laid on October 21st. By October 1909, the building was ready or occupancy.

The school is one of the town's finest architectural monuments and an excellent example of Colonial Revival style design, with its pedimented pavilion, Ionic columns, keystones and full cornice. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY Rockland High School NAME: MULTIPLE NAME: STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Plymouth DATE RECEIVED: 2/21/8: DATE OF 16TH DAY: 3/23/8!

DATE OF PENDING LIST: 3/07/89 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 4/07/89 DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: REFERENCE NUMBER: 89000217 NOMINATOR: STATE REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N - LESS THAN 50 YEARS: N N PDIL: PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: N SLR DRAFT: N N N COMMENT WAIVER: N VACCEPT RETURN ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: REJECT 3/23/59 OATEPAEOE D SID National Register RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N CLASSIFICATION count _resource type STATE/FEDERAL AGENCY CERTIFICATION FUNCTION historic current DESCRIPTION architectural classification materials descriptive text SIGNIFICANCE Period Areas of Significance--Check and justify below Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) 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 BIBLIOGRAPHY GEOGRAPHICAL DATA acreage verbal boundary descriptio UTMS boundary justificatio ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION/PRESENTATION sketch maps USGS maps photographs presentation OTHER COMMENTS Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Phone Signed Date THE MCKINLEY SCHOOL Rockland, Massachusetts PHOTOGRAPHER: Christine Scott Beard February, 1987 ACT for Massachusetts 45 School Street Boston, MA VIEW: Looking west at the McKinley School (386 Union St.; The McKinkey School 386 UnionSt.

(Rockland Rockland, MA H.S.) Protographer:Chiistine Scott Beard 2/87 ALT for Mass. 45 School St. boston, nt View: zooking west at the Mckinley School A ( *COMNISSIOTA February 2, 1989 Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, DC 20013-7127 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: The Rockland High School, Rockland, MA The Rockland Trust Company, Rockland, MA Lower Union Street, Historic District, Rockland, MA The Phoenix Building, Rockland, MA The Rockland Memorial Library, Rockland, MA The Pond Hill School, Wellfleet, MA 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 nomination forms. Sincerely, Bil: Fridberg Betsy Friedberg National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission Enclosure: BF /di Massachusetts Historical Commission, Valerie A. Talmage, Executive Director, State Historic Preservation Officer 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470 Office of the Secretary of State, Michael J. Connolly, Secretary