{"nrhp_refnum":"11000021","name":"South Union School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"21 Highland St","address_restricted":false,"city":"Southborough","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.26827620800003,"lon":-71.53012869999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-02-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Classical Revival brick school building at 21 Highland Street, Southborough, Massachusetts, built in 1911-1912 and designed by Frank Irving Cooper of the Boston firm Cooper & Bailey.","why_significant":"The nomination cites the building under Criteria A and C, in the areas of Architecture, Education and Social History. It is an example of Classical Revival school design by Frank Irving Cooper, a school architect. It also served the southern part of Southborough as a school, assembly hall and branch library.","narrative":"South Union School at 21 Highland Street, Southborough, is a brick Classical Revival schoolhouse built in 1911-1912 to designs by Frank Irving Cooper of Cooper & Bailey, a Boston firm. It sits on a hilly site at the top of a circular driveway, reached by a monumental rubblestone and granite stair. The building has two stories on a raised basement, cast-stone and wood trim, and a projecting central frontispiece with two entries. Inside, it was planned with three classrooms, a second-floor assembly hall for 265 people, a domestic science room and a branch library room. The school opened in December 1912 and served 67 children in grades 1-9. The Southville Branch Library operated upstairs from 1915 to 1953. Classes ended in 1980, and the building now holds town offices, art studios and exhibition space. A 2003 elevator shaft added accessibility. It was listed for its architecture and its role in local education and community life.","period_of_significance":"1911-1960","architect_builder":"Frank Irving Cooper of Cooper & Bailey, Boston","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Last used as a school in 1979-1980; now houses town offices, art studios, an auditorium and gallery space, with a 2003 elevator addition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:10:51.680274-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/94/7973/63797394/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/11000021.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000021/d3ef60ad79-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000021/d3ef60ad79-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SouthboroughMA_SouthUnionSchool.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SouthboroughMA_SouthUnionSchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797394","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Union_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16900371"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/south-union-school-11000021/"}