{"nrhp_refnum":"12001170","name":"McElwain, William H., School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"250 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bridgewater","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":41.99812648400007,"lon":-70.98111786899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2013-01-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Classical Revival brick school building on a raised basement at 250 Main Street, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, built in 1912 and designed by the Boston firm Loring and Phipps.","why_significant":"The school was built after a 1911-1912 town effort to relieve overcrowded schools, on land donated in memory of William H. McElwain. It is described as the best-preserved Loring and Phipps school identified to date in Massachusetts, retaining its original footprint and character-defining features. It is also a well-preserved example of an early 20th-century public school in the Classical Revival style.","narrative":"Built in 1912 on Main Street in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the McElwain School is a two-story Classical Revival schoolhouse of brick over a raised cast-stone basement. Its symmetrical five-bay front has three projecting central bays, segmental-arched entry porches, a cast-stone cornice and patterned brick panels, including basket-weave work studded with gray flare headers. The Boston firm of Loring and Phipps designed it, preparing a proposal before being formally hired. The school answered severe overcrowding reported by the School Committee in 1911. In March 1912 Town Meeting funded construction and accepted a land donation from James Franklin McElwain and Mary Barton McElwain, given in memory of his brother William H. McElwain. Though its windows and doors have been replaced and its parapet altered, the building keeps its original footprint and key features. It is considered the best-preserved Loring and Phipps school identified in Massachusetts. The school has been vacant since 1997, and a deteriorated modular classroom stands behind it.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Loring and Phipps, Architects, of Boston (George Loring and Sanford Phipps)","architectural_style":"Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Classical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Vacant since 1997; a noncontributing 1980s modular classroom building and a deteriorating parking area share the site. The roof was replaced in 2002 and is in very good condition.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:10:51.9371-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/56/7965/63796556/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/12001170.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12001170/68cbbe1fbc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12001170/68cbbe1fbc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BridgewaterMA_McElwainSchool.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:BridgewaterMA_McElwainSchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796556","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._McElwain_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16903477"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/mcelwain-william-h-school-12001170/"}