{"nrhp_refnum":"04000023","name":"Benedict Fenwick School","other_names":["Sister Clara Muhammad School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"150 Magnolia St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.31386196500006,"lon":-71.07197042199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-02-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education","Health/Medicine"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red brick Georgian Revival school building at 150 Magnolia Street in the Dorchester section of Boston, designed in 1911 and opened in September 1912. It was designed by architect James E. McLaughlin and has since been converted to housing.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an early example of the open-air or fresh-air school, built just after the Boston School Committee's 1910 policy requiring classrooms open to outside air. It reflects a national public health reform movement against tuberculosis and its effect on school design and education. It is listed under Criteria A and C.","narrative":"Benedict Fenwick School is a two-story red brick school at 150 Magnolia Street in Dorchester, Boston. Designed by architect James E. McLaughlin and opened in September 1912, it combines Neoclassical massing with tapestry brick and cast stone detail. Its many windows reflect the early twentieth-century belief that fresh air could protect children from tuberculosis and other illnesses. The Boston School Committee had recommended in November 1910 that new school rooms open wholly to the outer air, and the school was built soon after. Boston was already a leader in school health reform, with medical inspection from 1894 and a Department of School Hygiene in 1907. Although named for a Catholic bishop, the school was open to all denominations. A fire in 1999 destroyed most of the roof and second floor, and the building stood vacant for three years before conversion to 15 affordable housing units. It retains integrity of location and design, and is significant for architecture, education and health.","period_of_significance":"1912-1953","architect_builder":"McLaughlin, James E.","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals: Georgian Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"A 1999 fire destroyed most of the roof and second floor. After standing vacant for three years, the building was rehabilitated as 15 units of affordable housing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.414849-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/11/7969/63796911/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/04000023.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000023/9211d027d1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000023/9211d027d1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benedict_Fenwick_School,_Dorchester_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benedict_Fenwick_School,_Dorchester_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796911","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Fenwick_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4887261"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/benedict-fenwick-school-04000023/"}