massachusetts travel

Ralph Waldo Emerson School // 1904

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The Ralph Waldo Emerson School in Newton’s Upper Falls village was built in 1904 and dedicated a year later serving as the main school building in the industrial village. The brick school building was constructed adjacent to the Levi C. Wade School, a large Second Empire style wood-frame school constructed in 1869. The Wade School was razed for a 1950s addition to the Ralph Waldo Emerson School. The substantial school building was designed by the prominent architectural firm of Hartwell Richardson & Driver, at a time when the Upper Falls Village continued to expand due to the well-established cotton manufacturing mills and the Gamewell Fire Alarm Company. The large structure is hard to classify architecturally, as it blends elements of the Renaissance Revival, Arts & Crafts and Classical Revival styles, but with its massive chimneys, hipped roof with projecting eaves, and large arched windows, the building is an architectural statement for the relatively vernacular industrial village it is located in. By the end of the 20th century, school enrollments and consolidation of village schools saw the closing of the Emerson School, but luckily, the building lives on after it was converted to condominiums, with the 1955 addition now serving as a day care center, a senior citizen room and gymnasium-hall for the community. 

Newton Upper Falls Railroad Depot // 1852

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When the short-lived Charles River Railroad opened in 1852, first connecting the Boston and Worcester Railroad in Brookline to Newton’s Upper Falls village, the small community here saw immediate prosperity and turned into a thriving industrial village. In 1847, a petition was filed with the Legislature of Massachusetts to build a rail line linking greater Boston to the Rhode Island border. While a more direct route was easier, Otis Pettee (1795-1853), who owned an iron foundry called Pettee Works where he manufactured cotton machinery, seems to have been the principal promoter for the line to pass through the village of his factory. Pettee died soon-after the line was finished, but his persistence for this track served two additional benefits. Firstly, it opened up development into other Newton villages for early suburban development, and secondly, it served as a major line to bring gravel from Needham to fill the Back Bay, opening that iconic Boston neighborhood to development. The Upper Falls Depot dates to about the time that the initial line opened in 1852 and is a typical, vernacular train depot in New England from this period. The Charles River Railroad merged with the New York and Boston Railroad in 1855 and was later sold to the Boston and Albany Railroad. Following the near death of the railroad system in the United States in the latter half of the 20th century, much of the former Charles River Railroad today has survived despite the abandonment of much of the rest of the former New York and New England Railroad lines. This section is currently a part of the D-Branch of the MBTA’s Green Line. 

Old Howe School // 1852

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The Howe School, originally Howe Academy, in Billerica, Massachusetts, is a stellar example of a Greek Revival style school building that shows the emergence of the Italianate style in the 1850s. The school was founded following a generous bequest in the will of Dr. Zadok Howe, as a young men’s college-preparatory academy. When it was built in 1852, most Massachusetts towns divided themselves into smaller school districts, with each district erecting its own school building for pupils to get to the schools easier, improving attendance. The building committee hired Lowell architect, Daniel G. Bean, and it featured an innovative ventilation system for heating and bringing fresh air into the classrooms. The Howe School continued privately until 1897, when it became a public school. By the early 20th century, the small school building was deemed too small and ancient to remain the town’s high school, and a new building was constructed nearby. For years it operated as a grade school, and later as the school department offices. Following an extensive renovation that saw a rear addition, the Howe School building reopened as Billerica Access Television (the town’s public-access television station) as well as space for community events and meetings.

Former Billerica Town Hall – Billerica Public Library // 1895

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Located on the edge of the Town Common in Billerica, Massachusetts, this handsome civic building stands as one of the community’s best examples of the Colonial Revival style. The building was constructed in 1895 to replace the mid-19th century Town Hall that was destroyed by fire in 1893. The community hosted a design competition, where prominent firms from the Boston area submitted designs, and ultimately selected the plans from the firm of Warren & Bacon, led by Herbert Langford Warren and Lewis H. Bacon, who had a short-lived business partnership lasting just one year. The symmetrical, two-story brick building is trimmed with limestone and capped with a gray slate roof. The facade is embellished with a Palladianesque arched loggia sheltering the entrances with a centrally placed Palladian window above on the second floor. Additionally, the roof is adorned by a Christopher Wren inspired cupola with a gold leaf dome capped with a weathervane. The building functioned as the Town Hall with offices and a grand hall on the second floor for city meetings until the town hall relocated in 1979 to a former school building. Since 2000, the former Town Hall of Billerica has housed the Billerica Public Library, which was formerly located in a smaller historic building nearby.

Thom Block // 1891

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The Thom Block on Main Street in Downtown Milford, Massachusetts, is a historic mixed-use commercial block built of locally quarried Milford “pink” granite. The structure was constructed in 1891 by owner (and likely builder), James Thom, who arrived to Milford around 1889 and was hired by the Milford Pink Granite quarries as a foreman. Mr. Thom was the target of a vicious attack by a disgruntled quarry-worker and James would submit his resignation, turning his pursuits toward a local bicycle and horse racetrack and two of the town’s semi-professional baseball teams. He also got involved in real estate, in 1891 submitting plans for this building on Main Street that bears his name. Shortly after completion, a fire gutted the inside of the building and was rebuilt. Thom’s insurance did not fully cover the loss and he defaulted on the mortgage, selling the building and moved out of Milford. The Thom Block retains the polychromatic piers between storefronts and at the corner, which feature rounded granite blocks of polychromatic polished granite. The major ornament of the upper stories is a large plaque on the Main Street facade just above the recessed entrance with two Corinthian colonettes, spanned by a frieze and plinth on which “THOM” and “1891” are carved, respectively, showing us over a century later the original owner and his story.

Milford Opera House Block // 1881

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While altered, the Milford Opera House Block on Main Street, stands as one of the architecturally distinctive and significant 19th century buildings in Milford, Massachusetts. As the town prospered in the decades following the Civil War, and wealthy residents, including William F. Draper, an executive with the Draper Corporation in nearby Hopedale, sought to use their wealth to improve their community. In 1880, planning began to erect an opera house building, which would bring the arts to the community, and after months of discussion and planning, funding and a site on Main Street was secured. Architect, Frederick Swasey was hired by the association, who furnished plans for the Victorian Gothic building to contain five retail stores on the ground floor with an auditorium above capable of seating 1,100. The building suffered from a fire in 1912 and use as an opera house ceased and starting in the 1920s and the building began showing moving pictures. Later in the 20th century, the building was altered with the storefronts enclosed, windows on upper stories changed, iron cresting at the roof and clock face removed, but the building still retains its ornate entrance and is an important landmark on the town’s Main Street.

Brown Homestead // c.1750

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This large, gambrel-roofed Georgian house is located on Pearce Road, a winding road that runs the waterfront of the Cole River that spans between Swansea, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The house was owned by Captain John Brown (1675-1752) of the wealthy trading and slave-holding Brown Family which the prestigious Ivy League Brown University is named after. While extensive deed research of this home is not known, the property was mentioned in John Brown’s will of 1752 so it dates to at least 1750. It is possible that the house was expanded in the second half of the 18th century to its current form. The property remained in the Brown Family until 1911, and has been lovingly preserved by its successive owners.

United Church of Christ, Swansea // 1833

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The United Church of Christ in Swansea, Massachusetts, was built in 1833 as the second building for the congregation which was originally organized in 1693. It is believed that this was the first church in New England to admit all Christians to membership regardless of their theological beliefs, as a United or Union church. The congregation’s first meetinghouse was built prior to 1719 and was replaced in 1833 when the current building was completed. The United Church of Christ in Swansea blends Greek and Gothic Revival styles with traditional wood-frame construction and gable roof with multi-stage steeple. The facade is adorned with pilasters and louvered lancet arches, showcasing the builder’s ability to pull from multiple architectural styles for the construction.

Luther Store // 1815

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The Luther Store in Swansea, Massachusetts, is a historic commercial building constructed in 1815 and uncommon as a rare brick block with saltbox roof. The structure was built for John Brown Luther, and was operated by the Luther family as a store until 1903. The Luther’s Corner area was in the mid-19th century the economic center of Swansea, and Luther’s Store served as post office and library. The building was acquired in 1941 by the Swansea Historical Society, which now operates it as a local history museum following a restoration by Fall River architect, Maude Darling-Parlin.

Frank S. Stevens School // 1908

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The Frank S. Stevens School in Swansea, Massachusetts, was one of a number of civic and institutional buildings donated to the small town by wealthy residents Frank and Elizabeth Stevens. Ten years after the death of her husband, Elizabeth Case Stevens retained her favorite architect, Henry Vaughan, to furnish plans for a new school building for the main village in her beloved town of Swansea, to be built in the memory of her late husband. Mr. Vaughan had already designed the town hall, library, and Episcopal church, and Mrs. Stevens thought it would be fitting for an architecturally appropriate public school to also be built in the quaint New England village. Neo-Classical in style, the one-story brick school building is distinguished for its full-height pedimented portico supported by classical Doric columns and a cupola atop the hipped roof. The school was eventually outgrown and is now the school administration building for the town’s three later public school buildings. 

Old Sharon Sanatorium – Former Kendall Whaling Museum // 1891

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The old Sharon Sanatorium was built on former farmland in Sharon, Massachusetts, as a medical facility for the cure of pulmonary infectious diseases. The rural medical institution was designed in 1890 by the architectural firm of Longfellow, Alden and Harlow and completed a year later. The Sharon Sanatorium for Pulmonary Diseases opened formally in February 1891 with the purpose to provide affordable care for patients suffering from Tuberculosis and other pulmonary diseases. At the time, tuberculosis was a major health concern and treatment often included fresh air, so facilities such as this were designed with access to open air sleeping porches and forested surroundings. The Sharon Sanatorium was sited to catch the prevailing breezes on the side of Moose Hill, the second highest ascent between Boston and Providence. In 1916, the Sanatorium opened a Children’s Pavilion, which was reserved for children less than fourteen years of age suffering from tuberculosis. By 1938, the threat of tuberculosis was under control, and the Sanatorium began admitting patients suffering from arthritis and rheumatic fever until the facility closed in 1947. The Sanatorium integrated with the Boston Children’s Hospital in 1949 and soon after, the property was bought by Henry Plimpton Kendall (1878-1959), a wealthy entrepreneur and industrialist, for use as the Kendall Whaling Museum, showcasing his personal collection of paintings, prints, and tools of the whaling industry in New England. In 2001, the museum merged with the New Bedford Whaling Museum and today, the property is managed by the Trustees of Reservations as their Archives and Research Center.

First Congregational Church of Sharon // 1839

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Sharon, Massachusetts, is a small suburban community south of Boston that is lesser known than its neighbors, but the community has some great old buildings! The Town of Sharon was originally part of a 1637 land grant given by the Dorchester Proprietors to encourage new settlement in areas southward. In 1726, the lands of the present towns of Sharon, Canton and Stoughton, were separated from Dorchester and called the Stoughton Territory. Settlers in present-day Sharon found it difficult to attend mandated church services centered around present-day Stoughton and petitioned the General Court in 1739 to set off as a separate precinct. The request was granted and the Second Precinct was established, and incorporated as Stoughtonham in 1765, changing its name in 1783 to Sharon, named after the Sharon Plain in Palestine. In 1813, the local congregationalists split due to theological differences and some formed a Unitarian church. The Congregationalists moved down the street and built a new church in 1822 which was destroyed by fire in 1838 and replaced a year later by this edifice. Built in 1839 the First Congregational Church of Sharon is a vernacular and well-preserved example of a Greek Revival church building in the Doric order with towering pilastered steeple, monumental portico supported by four fluted Doric columns, and flushboard siding. The Congregational Church retains an original bell cast by the The Revere Copper Company of nearby Canton.

Trinity Episcopal Church of Wrentham // 1872

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Overlooking the Town Green in Wrentham, Massachusetts, the Trinity Episcopal Church of Wrentham stands as the town’s finest example of Victorian Gothic architecture and the community’s oldest Episcopal church. Episcopalians in Wrentham first began worshipping in 1863 and in less than ten years, quickly grew in numbers from just two members to so many that a church building was needed to house the congregation. The site on East Street was purchased and architect, Shepard S. Woodcock, was hired to furnish plans for the new building. Completed in 1872, the Victorian Gothic design features all of the hallmarks of the style, including the steeply pitched roof, pointed arch windows and entry doors, buttresses, and towering steeple.

General Draper High School // 1927

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The General Draper Memorial High School is one of the many civic and institutional buildings in Hopedale Village that were donated to the small industrial community by members of the wealthy Draper Family, who operated the Draper Corporation Factory in town. The school was built in 1927 on land donated to the Town by Princess Margaret Bonocompagni, the youngest child of the late William F. Draper, who married Prince Andrea Boncompagni of Italy in 1916. The marriage ended in divorce by 1924 and years later, she had no need for the family home in Hopedale, and bequeathed the site to the community for a new high school in memory of her late father. General William Franklin Draper (1842-1910) was a Civil War veteran who became a politician and managed the Draper company in Hopedale, where he built a massive mansion for his family. The mansion was demolished and replaced by this Colonial Revival style High School, designed by New Hampshire-based architect, Chase R. Whitcher, the handsome structure has since been expanded at the rear to service the growing student population in town.

Urncrest // c.1875

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Located on Adin Street, a street of homes formerly owned by factory owners and managers in Hopedale, Massachusetts, you will find “Urncrest”, a stunning Queen Anne Victorian mansion. This home was originally built around 1875 for William Lapworth (1844-1937) an English-born weaving expert, who worked at Hopedale Elastics Co. and patented certain weaving processes for suspenders, boot webbing, and garters. Hopedale Elastics was absorbed by the Draper Corporation in 1890, and Lapworth “modernized” his home with profits from this sale. His formerly modest home was updated with a corner tower, large additions, wrap-around porch with porte cochere, and applied ornament. The detached carriage house was also expanded, where he added a coachman’s apartment.