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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmassachusetts-avenue_1475 FORM B - BUILDING In Area no. Form no. MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION D 144 Office of the Secretary, State House, Boston 1wn Lexington dress 1475 Massachusetts Avenue Y 1q; °� me Muzzey Jr. High School - �- esent use Jr. high-grades 10-12 i esent owner Town of Lexington �\ scription: ■�` 141 ? �, , ;�, to ---- 1902 Source Worthen - Calendar History le Colonial Revival at urr 4. Map. Draw sketch of building location Architect Co�e r t t3aJ e� 1702 in relation to nearest cross streets and R.i '- /92� other buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric Brick l - Outbuildings (describe) 1 Other features Original facade designed to t echo old Isaac Melvin town hall later 1st. e V tl, High School which Muz ev replaced Altered yes Odk) Date Z Moved Date 5. Lot size: One acre or less Over one acre x Approximate frontage 550' Approximate distance of building from street i ' 50' O NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE 6. Recorded by E. W. Reinhardt USGS Quadrant Organization Lex. Hist. Com. MHC Photo no. Date Sept. 13, 1975 (over) 7. Original owner (if known) Town of Lex. Original use High School Subsequent uses (if any) and dates Jr. High School 8. Themes (check as many as applicable) Aboriginal Conservation Recreation AgriculEural Education X Religion ' Architectural x Exploration/ Science/ The Arts settlement invention ' Commerce Industry Social/ Communication Military humanitarian Community development Political Transportation 9. Historical significance. (include explanation of themes checked above) Prior to the 1925 addition, the 1902 building was designed with a pedimented gable over the entrance, in which was installed a tower clock. The 1902 building also had a balustrade running the entire length of the Massachu- setts Avenue elevation. (The face of the tower clock is now in the collection of the Lexington Historical Society.) Source: Photographs in the archives of the Lexington Historical Society. S. Lawrence Whipple, 1984 10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records, early maps, etc.) Ed Worthen- Calendary History of Lexington - p. 101 3/73 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 1475 MASS. AVENUE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 144 BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: The former Muzzey High School was constructed in two phases. The original(1902)building is the section to the west. In 1924 a large addition was constructed to the east, and also resulting in some alterations to the 1902 structure, including the main entrance and the removal of the roof balustrade. On October 25, 1902 the Lexington Minute-man included the following description of the high school: Messrs. Cooper and Bailey are the architects of the building. It is built of pale red colonial brick laid in natural toned cement. The ornate cornice(sic), and pair of handsome Corinthian pillars which support the pediment over the recessed entrance,which breaks the middle distance of the fagade,are of wood,but the water table and window lintels are of buff Ohio limestone. Massive granite steps give dignity to the main entrance and there is a line of granite defining the underpinning. The building is 67 x 124 feet, facing south, and the long way to the avenue on the old site of the former High school, and has an area of eight thousand three hundred feet. It is situated ninety-five feet back from the sidewalk and a wide semi-circular driveway approaches it from either side of the building. The grounds are to be laid out for shrubbery and a lawn. Sixteen large windows give abundant light on the front and rear of the building,while there are eight windows on either end,besides the extremely large ones which light the corridors, from the ends as well as the front, under the ornate and pillared porticos. The corridors traverse the building the long way, are wide and spacious and reached by easy flights of stairs at either end of the building. Here are the clothes racks for the pupils on frames covered with heavy woven wire, gilded. The 1902 building also included a third floor hall measuring 44 x 52 feet and capable of seating four hundred. The heavy trusses and beam work were exposed and painted white, contrasting with the pale green walls and woodwork. (This room was later converted into classrooms.) The class rooms were also painted a light green while the corridors were a pomegranate shade of terra cotta with ash woodwork stained a golden oak color. On November 20, 1925 the Lexington Minute-man offered the following description of the new senior junior high school: The new Lexington High School as designed by Ritchie,Parsons and Taylor and erected on Massachusetts avenue, is of Colonial style of architecture using water-struck brick and stone trim,the exterior of the present building being modified in design to harmonize with the treatment of the new building,the two buildings being connected and forming in appearance an entirely new structure the Colonial motive(sic)of which is in pleasing accord with the Revolutionary historical atmosphere of these famous old town. The complete plan is"L" shape with provision for possible future extension of wings on the northern and eastern ends, and the construction includes fireproof corridors and stair towers throughout. The new building is the Senior High School;the old building with the interior remodeled during construction is used as a Junior High School. In the basement, plans provide for a double gymnasium,boiler room, fan room, coal pocket,fresh air room,janitor's room and supplies. On the ground floor are the shops,biology room,domestic science rooms, lunch room, lunch preparation room,recitation room, demonstration room,boys' lockers, showers and toilets,physical instructors' room, shop instructors' room and supplies. The first floor contains the auditorium with a seating capacity of 500, administration offices, class rooms, teachers' room, dental clinic, emergency room,toilet rooms, book room, storage and supplies. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 1475 MASS. AVENUE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 144 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE(continued): In the second floor are class rooms, library,bookkeeping room,typewriting room, stenography room, physics laboratory, chemistry laboratory, lecture room,dark room,toilets and supplies,with more storage and fan room on the third floor. The remodeled old building contains on the ground floor: class rooms, girls' lockers, showers and toilets,boys' toilets; first floor, class rooms,administration offices,teachers' room,toilets; second floor,class rooms, library, emergency room,toilet;third floor,class rooms and study hall. The completed buildings have accommodations to take care of approximately 1000 pupils. The 1924 addition was designed by architects Ritchie,Parsons and Taylor whose other designs included the Boston Police Department Headquarters(1925, BOS.2062). HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: When initially constructed in 1902,this was the first building in Lexington constructed specifically as a high school. The town's first high school opened on this site in 1854 on the second floor of the Town Hall. In 1902 that building was cut into two sections and moved to Vine Street and the present building was constructed. The new High School was dedicated on Nov. 1, 1902. The original 1902 high school was designed by Boston architects Cooper and Bailey and constructed at a cost of about$61,500. The contractor was H.P. Cummings of Boston. In 1924 the high school underwent a substantial expansion at a cost of$420,000. The 1902 building was renovated for use as the Junior High School with the new building attached for use by the Senior High School. The architects for the expansion were Ritchie, Parsons and Taylor. The original 1902 faeade was nearly completely altered by the new addition. The new senior junior high school opened for inspection on November 16, 1925. To accommodate rising enrollments,a new high school was constructed off Waltham Street in 1949 and the former high school was renamed Muzzey Junior High School. In 1958 what had become the junior high was again altered, according to plans by C. Harry Erickson. These alterations were primarily internal. Following the decline in school-aged population in the 1970s,the Town elected to close Muzzey in 1980. In 1983 Sydney Noyes Anderson,Inc.was designated the developer to convert the school to residential units. Today the building also houses the Lexington Senior Center. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Hinkle,Alice and Andrea Cleghorn. Life in Lexington: 1946-1995. Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Lexington. Kelley, Beverly Allison. Lexington: A Century of Photographs. Lexington Historical Society, 1980, p. 56. Lexington Minute-man, October 25, 1902;November 8, 1902;November 20, 1925. Massachusetts Historical Commission,MACRIS data base. Worthen, Edwin B. A Calendar History of Lexington, Massachusetts. Lexington: 1946. Supplement prepared by: Lisa Mausolf October 2009 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address LEXINGTON 1475 MASS. AVENUE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 144 BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 gg �s s Muzzey High School,prior to 1924 addition. Source: Beverly Allison Kelley,Lexington: A Century of Photographs, 1980, p. 63.