Somerville High School | |
Location | 93 Highland St., Somerville, Massachusetts |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°23′13.92″N71°5′53.48″W / 42.3872000°N 71.0981889°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1851-52; 1896-97; 1923-24 |
Built by | J. S. & I. W. Tuttle (1851-52); Alfred H. Hines (1896-97); Unknown (1923-24) |
Architect | Melvin & Young (1851-52); Thomas M. Sargent (1896-97); Ritchie, Parsons & Taylor (1923-24) |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Other, Georgian Revival |
MPS | Somerville MPS |
NRHP reference No. | 89001261 [1] |
Added to NRHP | September 18, 1989 |
The Somerville City Hall (which formerly served as Somerville High School) is a historic municipal building at 93 Highland Avenue in Somerville, Massachusetts. Built in 1852 and enlarged several times, it has served as the city's first high school, first public library, and only city hall. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. [1]
Somerville City Hall is located at the northeast corner of School Street and Highland Avenue at the western end of the Central Hill area of the city, a cluster of municipal buildings that includes the current Somerville High School and its Central Library. The present appearance of the building is as a 2-1/2 story brick Colonial Revival structure, with a gable roof and a projecting square section at the center of its east-facing front facade. The building is topped by a wood-frame belfry and clocktower with cupola. [2]
It was decided to build the building in 1851. [3] Melvin & Young of Boston were the architects, and James S. Tuttle and Isaiah W. Tuttle of Somerville were the builders. [4] When it was completed in 1852, the brick Greek Revival building housed the Free High School on the second floor, and a large meeting hall, called Town Hall, on the first. Rapid expansion of the town during the next fifteen years created cramped conditions for the High School, and in 1866 it was voted that the school would take over the entire building. Almost simultaneously, the Forster School on Sycamore Street was destroyed by fire. It was decided that the new Forster School would include a large hall, called Forster Hall, on its third floor to replace Town Hall. This was completed in 1867, and the High School moved into the vacant space. This too was quickly outgrown, and a new Somerville High School was built in 1871, and dedicated in 1872. Also in 1871, the Massachusetts legislature reincorporated Somerville as a city, which was approved by the voters, which was to take effect on January 1, 1872. Once the new High School was dedicated, the old building was converted into the Somerville City Hall. Continued growth of the city necessitated more changes in the building, with the police department and public library moving into their own buildings in 1875 and 1885, respectively. [3]
In 1893, 1894 and 1895, then-mayor William H. Hodgkins agitated for a new City Hall. This was however rejected by his successor, Albion A. Perry, who advocated instead for an extension to the building. [3] Thomas M. Sargent, a Boston architect and Somerville resident, was commissioned to do the work. A large addition was built on the rear of the building. The original brick cornice was removed at this time, and replaced with a Tuscan order entablature. [5] Additional alterations, including the addition of a front porch and terrace, were carried out in 1902. The architect of this work was Walter T. Littlefield, assistant commissioner of public buildings, and built by George F. Matthews. [6] The building was extended one last time in 1923-24. This work also overhauled the entire of the existing building. A new wing was built on the north side, and the main entrance moved to Sargent's east facade, where a two Ionic columns in antis were inserted. A secondary entrance was added on the west facade, facing School Street. Sargent's 1896 wing was further extended with a full third floor, topped by a cupola with a clock made by the E. Howard Clock Company. The interior was remodeled as well, and changes included a new chamber for the Board of Aldermen (now City Council), main lobby and grand stair. Much of the building's Greek Revival origins were erased at this time, with only the shape of the original wing and the brick pilasters remaining. The architects for this work were Ritchie, Parsons & Taylor of Boston. [2]
Following the completion of the Somerville High School project, it has been proposed to renovate the building again. [7]
The Ogle County Courthouse is a National Register of Historic Places listing in the Ogle County, Illinois, county seat of Oregon. The building stands on a public square in the city's downtown commercial district. The current structure was completed in 1891 and was preceded by two other buildings, one of which was destroyed by a group of outlaws. Following the destruction of the courthouse, the county was without a judicial building for a period during the 1840s. The Ogle County Courthouse was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey in the Romanesque Revival style of architecture. The ridged roof is dominated by its wooden cupola which stands out at a distance.
The Levi F. Warren Jr. High School is a former public junior high school building located at 1600 Washington Street, in the village of West Newton, in Newton, Massachusetts. It was named for Levi F. Warren, who graduated in 1854 from what is now Bridgewater State College and taught 21 years in grammar schools in Salem and in Newton, where he was a principal in West Newton.
The Peter Faneuil School is an historic school building at 60 Joy Street on Beacon Hill in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a four-story brick Tudor Revival building with limestone trim, built in 1910 to designs by the Boston architect James T. Kelley and his associate, Harold S. Graves. It is named for Peter Faneuil, the benefactor who gave Faneuil Hall to the city.
The Corcoran School is an historic school building at 40 Walnut Street in Clinton, Massachusetts. The 2+1⁄2-story brick Colonial Revival building was built in 1900 to a design by Boston architect Charles J. Bateman. The rectangular building rises above a raised foundation to a truncated hip roof with a variety of gabled dormers and two cupolas. The entry is centered on a seven-bay facade, beneath a slightly projecting pavilion that rises a full three stories. The entry is recessed under a large round arch, above which is a portico supported by Ionic columns. On the second level of the pavilion are three long, narrow, round-arch windows with granite keystones above, and on the third level are two rectangular sash windows topped by blind arches.
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The Reading Public Library is located in Reading, Massachusetts. Previously known as the Highland School, the two-story brick-and-concrete Renaissance Revival building was designed by architect Horace G. Wadlin and built in 1896–97. The building served the town's public school needs until 1981. It is the town's most architecturally distinguished school building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the year it was converted for use as the library.
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Grace United Methodist Church is a historic Methodist Church building at 34 Court Street in Keene, New Hampshire. Built in 1869, it was designed by architect Shepard S. Woodcock, and is one of the largest churches in southwestern New Hampshire. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Its congregation moved in 2009 and was disbanded in 2016, and the building is undergoing renovation for use as professional offices.
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Cumbooquepa is a heritage-listed house at Somerville House, 253 Vulture Street, South Brisbane, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by George Henry Male Addison and built in 1890. It is also known as Brisbane High School for Girls. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
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Brewster Memorial Hall is the town hall of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. It is located at the junction of South Main Street and Union Street in the town center. Its construction in 1880-90 was the result of a bequest from Wolfeboro native John W. Brewster, with terms stipulating that the building should resemble Sargent Hall in Merrimac, Massachusetts. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
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