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NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 8-86) 89002329 OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form DEC 2 6 1989 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 Thompson Street School (preferred) other names/site number New Bedford Community Center 2. Location street & number 58 Crapo Street city, town New Bedford state Massachusetts code MA N/A] not for publication N/A vicinity county Bristol code 005 zip code 02740 3. Classification Ownership of Property private * 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 buildings sites structures objects T Total Number of contributing resources previousiy listed in the National Register 4.
State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this LX nomination request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the NationalRegister of HistoricPlaces and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opínion, the property X meets does not meet the National Register criteria. See continuation sheet. Volene A almar Dee .1S. 31980 Signature of certitying official Executive Director, Massachusetts Histotical Date Commission; 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 National Park Service Certification I, hereby, certify 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. Batored In the HelowyDyen Mationai Rogiater 1/26/50 removed from the National Register. other, (explain:) Date of Action 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (enter categories from instructions) Education / School Thompson Street School, New Bedford, MA Current Functions (enter categories from instructions) Education / Library Social / Civic 7.
Description Architectural Classification (enter categories from instructions) Late Victorian Materials (enter categories from instructions) foundation Granite walls Brick, Granite, Terra Cotta roof Asphalt, Slate, Copper otherWood Describe present and historic physical appearance. The Thompson Street School, built 1884-85, is an eight-room, two-and-one-half-story brick structure with full basement and attic. The school is located on the southwest corner of Thompson and Crapo Streets. The portion of the lot to the east and north of the school is covered with asphalt and the remaining portion is covered with grass, trees and shrubs. The property is bordered on the two street sides by squared-off curbings of Rockport granite; a chainlink fence completely surrounds the site.
The school is setback from Thompson Street on the south by approximately fifteen feet and from Crapo Street on the west by approximately fifty feet. Residential lots are located approximately twenty-two feet to the north and sixty feet to the east of the school. The school was originally oriented on a north-south axis with the main entrance on the south side. Since remodeling of the school in 1976, the main entrance is now on the west side, the south entrance having been bricked in. All future references to the front, back, etc., will be in relation to its original design. The neighborhood is a thickly-settled residential area, developed from the last third of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century. The building is composed of two long (east-west) rectangular blocks, one in back of the other, the back (north) block being smaller than the front (south).
A smaller block extends on each of the east and west elevations where the two rectangles meet; these portions house side entrances and stairways. Another small mass protrudes from the center of the front elevation for the main entrance and bell tower. The roof on the south entrance block is mansard-style, while the roof of the rest of the building is truncated. A single brick-pedimented dormer, framed in granite, is set into the roof. The gable of the dormer is basket-weave brickwork with a smaller arched design of the same pattern over the center of the three windows. Each of these wood-frame windows are six over one and are separated by granite pilasters. On either side of the lower portion of the inset dormer are two recessed panels of brick surrounded by brick pilasters. At the top of the panels, bricks step out to meet the bottom of the mansard roof.
These corbelled panels are repeated on the sides of the tower. Atop this tower originally sat an open wooden bell tower, crowned with a gilt eagle vane (taken down c. 1960). A wooden gabled dormer protrudes from the roof of the XSee continuation sheet NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 7 OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Thompson Street School New Bedford, MA Section number - - Page - main building on either side of the tower. Iwo tall, slender windows, eight over one, are set into each of the dormers. Above the windows is a simple, stick-style wood pattern; three brackets adorn the underside of the gable. The two dormers on the back of the building are identical to those on the front. Iwo dormers are also found on each of the sides.
The dormer that sits on the front-most section is identical to those on the front and back, while the second dormer, which sits atop each of the side stairway extensions, differs only in the addition of a third window. The entire roof was reroofed in 1976 with asphalt shingles, which have replaced the original slate. Two hipped skylights rest atop the flat portion of the roof towards the front. The roof is also punctured by ventilation shafts and two corbelled chimneys of brick. All roof joints are flashed in copper, while gutters are of the same material. The walls of the school are of red Philadelphia brick; the building rests on a rough native granite foundation. Three granite belt coursings run around the entire building: one at the sill-line of the first-floor windows, one at the sill-line of the second-floor windows, and the third along the top of the second-floor window transoms.
The lintels of the first-floor windows are also of granite. Along the cornice-line run alternating panels of terra-cotta floral relief and decorative brickwork. All these horizontal elements unite the jumbled massing of the building. The main entrance consists of an arched entry and two side arched openings; these spaces, which were originally part of an open-air vestibule, were bricked in and the stairs, which were of Concord granite, were removed in 1976. The multi-color encaustic tiling of the entryway floor remains. The entry arches are of decorative brickwork with terra cotta floral keystones. Above the two side arches are insets, each with a human bust. A granite globe and its surrounds interrupt the middle belt coursing, below which runs a wood-frame window with an eight-light transom.
On either side of this window is a wood-frame, double-hung window of nine over three lights with a sixteen-light transom. A granite block lies atop the belt coursing over each of the windows: one is carved with "AD" and the other with "1884". A semi-circle of basket-weave bricks rests on the coursing over the central window. Side entrances lie on the east and west facades of the respective east and west extensions. Three decorative arches with terra cotta floral keystones The entry is recessed into the frontmost (southern) archway. The doors of the west entry are of aluminum and glass with a semi-circular transom of one light, while the doors of the east entry are solid aluminum with the original six-light, wood-frame, semi-circular transom. The original, carved wood and glass panel doors were removed in 1985 and are stored in the basement.
They originally had bronze hinges and have (continued) OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 NPS Form10-900-a (8-88) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number _ Page - 2 Thompson Street Schoo1 - New Bedford, MA been painted pink. Each of the archways on the face of the building were originally open, but wrought-iron gates and transoms have been added. The multi-color encaustic tile of the entryway floors are identical to that of the front. Wood-frame windows lie in the center of the other two archways in each series; the windows are double-hung with six over two lights. Basement windows lie boarded in the foundation beneath the two windows.
The stairs of the east side are of original Rockport granite, but they were replaced on the west side with an unsympathetic stairway and handicap access ramp of concrete in 1976. Above each of the archways on both sides of the building is a six over two, double-hung, wood-frame window with a ten-light transom. On the south faces of these entryway portions are tall slender recessions, one on each floor, inserted to break the monotony of a plain surface. On the north face of each of these extensions are two stairway windows halfway between floors. The windows are united by a common sill, granite lintel and a low arch of decorative brick. A basement entrance lies in the foundation of the building, a few steps down from ground level. The doors are wood and the entryway sheds were removed in 1976.
On the front (south) elevation, on either side of the tower, is a series of four windows on each floor, the central two windows of each series almost twice as wide as those on the ends. The central windows are nine over three with fourteen-light transoms. The end windows are six over two with ten-light transoms. The granite lintels of the central windows on the first floor are united and serve as the base for a low arch of inlaid brick. Below each of the end windows are boarded basement windows in the foundation. On the front portion of each of the sides is another series of four windows on each floor, but all are identical. They consist of six over two lights with ten-light transoms. Each pair of windows on the first floor are joined by a granite lintel and a low brick arch. Boarded basement windows lie in the foundation below each window.
On the rear portion of each side are two windows on each floor, identical to the other side windows. The first-floor windows are again united by lintel and arch. A boarded basement window lies beneath the northernmost window on each side, while a basement entrance lies beneath the other window. Once again, the shed entrance has been removed. The rear facade consists of two sets of four windows identical to those on the front with boarded basement windows beneath each. First-floor windows are protected by metal screens added in 1977-1978. The school was originally built with four classrooms on each floor. A wide hall runs east-west from one side entrance to the other on the first floor; another hall runs from the main entrance back and meets the east-west hall at the center of the building. The classrooms are in each of the corners of the building, allowing for windows on two sides.
Each classroom has a small closet for teacher storage and two walk-through coat closets that open on both the hall and the classroom. Each room also has a door that opens directly (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page Thompson Street School New Bedford, MA onto the hallway. The second floor configuration is the same, with the addition of a small teachers' room in the tower over the front entrance. The room originally boasted a small marble sink. All the walls are covered with matchboard wainscoting to the window-sill level with plaster above. All doors have four recessed panels with a one-light transom above. All doors and windows are framed in wood.
All entrances are framed arches with decorative motifs in the corners of the frames. All floors are of ash. An open stairway with cherry newel posts, balusters, and railings graces each of the east and west entrance halls. Access to the basement is gained through a door beneath the stairway. The stairways to the basement are finished with matchboard wainscoting; both lead down to a large open room that, together, occupy two-thirds of the space to the rear of the building. The back of the east room is partitioned for the boiler room. Each large room has a storage area near the bottom of the stairs, along the outside wall. The front room on the west side was originally used as a bathroom, while the front space on the east side is divided into two storage areas. The walls in the basement are either granite or brick.
Like those to the basement, the stairways from the second floor to the attic are enclosed andfinished with matchboard wainscoting. The attic is basically unfinished, except for two classrooms in the front of the building that are finished with wood panelling. These rooms may have been used for extra meeting space. The main attic space is interrupted only by pine support pillars. Alterations were made to the building in 1976 to convert the school to a community center and library. The front entrance vestibule has been bricked off and now serves as a storage area; one door has replaced the double entrance door to the main hallway. A partition has been erected one-third of the way down the hall from the front to form a conference area. The rest of this hall houses bookshelves and carrels.
A wall and doorway has also been constructed at the east end of the east-west hallway to the west of the staircase. Another wall and door was erected at the west end of the same hall, approximately ten feet east of the stairs. Both of these new doors are flanked by one-light windows. The latter door is the main entrance to the Casa Da Saudade Library. A control desk is located just inside of the door, while stacks have been erected throughout the rest of the hallway. The removal of one coat closet and half of the south wall of the northeast classroom has allowed for continuity of space between this room and the hallway. Scattered around this room are numerous stacks and a few tables and chairs. Three walls have been constructed in the southeast classroom, resulting in a children's room with stacks and tables that occupy two-thirds of the entire space.
The remaining space is divided into three sections: the northeast corner of the room is now an office, the center area just to its south is for storage, and the southeast corner of the original room is now a lounge. All of these areas open only to the hallway. Stacks have been placed in the eastern third of the southeast classroom, now used as a workroom and (continued) NPS Form 10-000-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 Section number - Page - Thompson Street School New Bedford, MA storage area for staff. The remaining portion has been converted to men's and women's restrooms, accessible from the west entryway. The northwest classroom is a large, open office/meeting area for the Center for Immigrant Assistance.
The removal of a hallway wall to a coat closet makes the center directly accessible from the west entrance vestibule formed by the new wall in the hallway. On the second floor, partitions have been erected ten feet down the hall from each stairway; each partition includes a single doorway. Part of the coat closet walls on the hallway of each of the north classrooms has been removed to allow direct access to the stairway vestibules. The northeast room is now used as a meeting room, while instruction is the main function of the northwest room. A wall runs north-south down the center of the southwest classroom, allowing for two teaching areas. The southeast classroom now serves as an office for the Luzo-American Soccer Association. The teachers' room at the front of the building also serves as an office.
The only other alteration on this floor has been the construction of a storage close in the hallway near the teachers' room, done prior to the 1976 remodeling. The attic remains as it was, and the basement is not in use. Throughout the building, most of the woodwork has been painted with contemporary colors. The transoms above the windows have either been covered with wood or painted over. The windows of the attic and basement are either missing or badly in need of repair. (continued) NPS Form 10-900-e (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 Section number - Page 5 Thompson Street School New Bedford, MA Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the property, it is New Bedford harbor shoreline may indicate favorable locational criteria for prehistoric settlement and subsistence. In general, however, the potential for significant archaeological remains, either prehistoric or historic, seems low, as a result of small lot size and the fact that the building, which has a full basement, covers most of the parcel. Asphalt paving covers much of the remaining portion of the property. (end) Thompson Street School, New Bedford, MA 8. Statement of Significance