Ash Street School
Ash Street School (Worcester, Massachusetts) is located in Massachusetts
Ash Street School (Worcester, Massachusetts)
Ash Street School (Worcester, Massachusetts) is located in the United States
Ash Street School (Worcester, Massachusetts)
Location4 Ash St., Worcester, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°15′35″N 71°40′41″W / 42.25972°N 71.67806°W / 42.25972; -71.67806
Arealess than one acre
Built1850[1]
ArchitectBoyden & Ball
Architectural styleItalianate
MPSWorcester MRA
NRHP reference No.80000542[2]
Added to NRHPMarch 5, 1980

The Ash Street School is a historic school building at 4 Ash Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. The Italianate style school was built as part of a wave of school construction in the city between 1848 and 1855, and is the city's second oldest surviving school. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[2] It is presently home to a local land conservation organization.

Description and history

The former Ash Street School stands in what is now a heavily industrialized and commercialized area south of downtown Worcester, on the north side of Ash Street west of Green Street. The lot it occupies is at the crest of a hill, making it highly visible. It is a square three story brick building with a low hip roof that has a deep bracketed cornice. Each facade has four bays, separated by piers that rise to corbelling just below the roof line. There are two entrances on each of the north and south sides, designed to provide separate entrances to boys and girls. It originally had a cupola, but that has been removed.[3]

The school was built about 1850 to a design by noted local architect Elbridge Boyden, and was part of a major program by the city to expand its school facilities. At the time of its construction, the area where it stands was a densely populated neighborhood; it has since been largely redeveloped for industrial uses. The school was featured in architectural publications of the period (although one somewhat quixotically described it as a multiunit residence). At the time of its listing on the National Register, it was serving as a storehouse.[3] It is presently home to the Greater Worcester Land Trust, a land conservation organization.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Howland, Henry J. The Heart of the Commonwealth: or, Worcester as it is. 1856.
  2. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  3. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Ash Street School". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-01-27.


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