M H C 50-0-125 Lowell DRA.44 ASSACHUSETTS ISTORICAL ...

Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. 12/12

FORM B BUILDING

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION

MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING

220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125

Photograph(view from west )

Locus Map (north is up)

Recorded by: John D. Clemson

Organization: Dracut Historical Commission

Date (month / year): April, 2017

Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number

50-0-125 Lowell DRA.44

Town/City: Dracut

Place: (neighborhood or village): Dracut Center

Address: 88 Spring Park Avenue

Historic Name: Greenmont Avenue School/High School

Uses: Present: public elementary school

Original: public elementary school

Date of Construction: ca. 1928

Source: Department of Public Safety

Style/Form: Classical Revival/hip block U

Architect/Builder: Brown & Poole, Architects

Exterior Material:

Foundation: parged concrete

Wall/Trim: brick

Roof: slate

Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Hyphenated classroom wing

Major Alterations (with dates): Window replacement, mid-

20th century; door replacement, recent decades; Gymnasium/Hall rear addition, c. 1940; utilitarian hyphenated wing, 2000. Condition: Good

Moved: no yes Date:

Acreage: 96,268 square feet

Setting: Moderately dense residential blocks developed between the late-10th and early 20th centuries adjacent to Dracut Center.

INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET DRACUT 88 SPRING PARK AVENUE

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.

220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125

Continuation sheet 1

DRA.44

Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Greenmont Avenue School, constructed ca. 1928, is a Classical Revival hip-block building of a design and plan that distinguishes it from many of the earlier school buildings constructed in Dracut. Here, rather than a prominent projecting central pavilion, the building is massed in a shallow U shape with projecting pavilions arranged at either end of a long, nine-bay hip block for a total of eleven bays. The long, shallow building is six bays deep, and the dimensions are 132 feet wide by 68 feet deep. The two-story building rests on a high foundation and is constructed of a modified common-bond brick with a row of Flemish bond every sixth row. The boxed cornice is plainly finished in wood; most of the architectural elaboration is focused on the main central entry, which is composed of an elaborately molded enclosed pediment resting on a deep two-part molded entablature supported by smooth Doric pilasters with moderate entasis. The side entry centered on the left elevation is sheltered by what appears to be a mid-20th-century bracketed door hood. The tall window openings with plain cast-stone sills and lintels arranged in a regular, symmetrical fenestration pattern appear to have more-recent sash consisting of 28-light fixed sash above horizontal hopper windows. According to the original elevation plans they replaced the original 15-over-15 double-hung sash which were specified (see figure 2). The interior plan of the building is suggested by the blank expanses of wall within the projecting end pavilions that flank abundantly lit classrooms in the main block, suggesting a four-classroom plan separated by a lateral hall crossed by a center hall. Larger end classrooms are placed perpendicular to those in the center of the building. The blank end pavilions and rear piles in the side elevations are softened by framed decorations picked out in soldier and stretcher bricks with cast-stone corner blocks. All of this is confirmed by the first-floor plan reproduced below as figure 1, which also depicts vertical circulation located in the rear corners of the building. Both the photographs and elevation (figure 2) depict the chimney located in line with the right edge of the left pavilion at the ridge and two original large metal air handlers located at the ridge over the second and ninth bays (left to right). A close comparison of the side elevations depicted in current photographs, which strongly appear to be part of the original build, with the original plans, indicates the plans were altered after they were approved to accommodate a second rank of classrooms at the back of the building. According to Paquet the basement was expanded and an auditorium space, or “cafitorium” was added to the rear of the building, based on appearance during the middle decades of the 20th century. More recently, in 2000, a 69 by 66 foot, single-story, flat-roofed wing connected by a narrow 10-foot-wide, 20-foot-long hyphen, was constructed to the south (right), of the original building. This entirely utilitarian building, sheathed in vertical boards, is six bays square. Fixed casement sash are interspersed with projecting air conditioners across the front façade. The school is sited at a deep setback centered on its large lot. The front yard is elegantly landscaped with grass, specimen trees and a curved walkway. The rear half of the lot has been paved for parking.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Greenmont Avenue School was constructed ca. 1928, according to Paquet in order to relieve overcrowding in the Dracut Center School District, then served by Centre School at 11 Spring Park Avenue (see relevant inventory form). He also explains that starting in 1933 space was set aside in the building to provide a two-year high school course within Dracut for the first time; previously students had been required to attend Lowell High School. Soon thereafter Greenmont School became Dracut’s first four-year High School, for which it served for the following approximate 20 years.1 Staff identified by Paquet included, c. 1935-1936, principal James C. Riley and teachers Arthur Skandalis, Donald Shanahan, Marie T. McKenna (Condon), Ora K. Parks (McLaughlin), Katherine Boland (Prior), Henry Konisczny, John Guenard, Spencer Sullivan (coach), Rene Bernardin, Pauline F. Varnum, Helen R. Shea and Jean M. Dozois. According to research conducted for 56 Fox Avenue (see form: DRA.37), Pauline F. Varnum served as principal beginning in 1949. Principal James C. Riley (b. 1903) later became, according to the 1940 Federal Census, superintendent of Lowell schools, where he resided at 39 Frothingham Street with his wife, Agatha (b. 1912) and son Richard (b. 1937). Although Paquet identifies Ray Clough of Chelmsford as the architect, Department of Public Safety

1 Donat H. Paquet, The Photographic History of Dracut, Massachusetts (Dracut: Dracut Historical Society, Inc., 1982) pp. 78-80.





DRA.44

records identify the New Bedford firm of Brown & Poole as the architects of the building. No figure by the name of Ray Clough with any connection to Dracut could be identified in available records. Brown & Poole, Architects Previous research by Peter M. Jacobson of A.G. Souza Associates undertaken in 1988 for a group of public schools and other public buildings in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, established the following regarding the careers of Erford Poole and Frank Clifton Brown.

Frank Clifton Brown (1883-1969) was born in New Bedford where he worked in several mills as a clerk before going to Boston for his architectural studies and training. He worked for eight years in the offices of Charles Brigham, noted and successful American architect whose works dominate nearby Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Mr. Brown returned to New Bedford in 1913 and by 1918 was in partnership with Erford Poole. He retained his residence in New Bedford for the remainder of his life, but left his association with Erford Poole and moved his practice to Boston near the time of the Second World War. Erford Poole (1877-1965) was born in Dartmouth, son of Isaac B. Poole. His family of farmers, politicians, merchants, and whaling captains is an important one in Dartmouth’s history. Mr. Poole remained in the area his entire lifetime as a successful architect with an active social life. Individually and with Mr. Brown, his work was locally respected and well-received. The firm was commissioned to do many private residences as well as commercial and public buildings.2

Other important commissions of Brown & Poole identified in the New Bedford area in MACRIS records include Smith Neck School (1924, DAR.191), Job S. Gridley School (1923, DAR.194), a Sunday school addition to the First Baptist Church of New Bedford (1927, NBE.208) and the Rochester Grange Hall (1924, ROC.54).

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Dracut Assessor’s Department, Assessors Online Database. Dracut Engineering Department, Engineering Assessors Map. Massachusetts State Archives, records of the Department of Public Safety. Ancestry.com. Census Schedules, Vital Records, City Directories, Maps & Genealogies. Google Books. historicaerials.com. Larson Fisher Associates, Historic Preservation Plan & Town-Wide Survey of Historic Resources for Town of Dracut, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, 2012. Dracut Historical Society Collections. Directories, Assessors Records, Town Annual Reports, Photographs. Coburn, Silas Roger. History of Dracut, Massachusetts (Lowell, MA: Press of the Courier- Citizen Co., 1922). Donat H. Paquet, The Photographic History of Dracut, Massachusetts (Dracut: Dracut Historical Society, Inc., 1982) pp. 78-80

2 Jacobson, Elmer M. Poole School, MHC B Form DAR.470 (1988).





DRA.44

FIGURE 1

First floor plan depicting the configuration of classrooms and horizontal and vertical circulation. As built the building had a second rank of classrooms arrayed along the lateral corridor beyond the top of the image.

FIGURE 2

Façade elevation showing original configuration of sash.





DRA.44

Left (north) and rear elevations, view from NE.

Right (south) elevation with modern wing, view from SW.





DRA.44

[If appropriate, cut and paste the text below into an inventory form’s last continuation sheet.]

National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form

Check all that apply:

Individually eligible Eligible only in a historic district

Contributing to a potential historic district Potential historic district

Criteria: A B C D

Criteria Considerations: A B C D E F G

Statement of Significance by________John D. Clemson__________________ The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.

The Greenmont Avenue School/High School, constructed ca. 1928, is a well-preserved example of early

20th-century local and regional school design reflecting planning, design and finish of the period. It

retains much of its original exterior finishes and trim, retaining integrity of workmanship, design,

materials, association, location, setting, and feeling. It is significant at the local level for its role in the education of neighborhood students for over 80 years, its long association with public education in

Dracut, and its role as Dracut’s first High School during the 1930s through 1950s. It is therefore eligible

for individual National Register listing under criteria A and C.

It would also contribute to a potential Dracut Center National Register District that would include several

important institutional and residential buildings, including Centre School (1898, DRA.35); the Yellow Meeting House (1794, 1897, 1956, 1988, DRA.43); the Grange Hall (1903, DRA.34); Moses Greeley

Parker Library (1922, DRA.46); and the Archibald Golar House (ca. 1900, DRA.107).

M H C 50-0-125 Lowell DRA.44 ASSACHUSETTS ISTORICAL ...

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