{"nrhp_refnum":"80000595","name":"Abbott Street School","other_names":["Abbott Street Schoolhouse"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"36 Abbott St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.262914522000074,"lon":-71.82136149699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick grammar schoolhouse at 36 Abbott Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, built in 1894 to plans by William R. Forbush of Boston, with a rear addition of 1905-1906.","why_significant":"The form checks architecture, education and community development as themes. The building is a Romanesque Revival school with a distinctive semi-circular central bay, closely resembling Forbush's Downing Street School of 1891. It remained in use as a school after its original construction.","narrative":"Abbott Street School is a brick grammar school at 36 Abbott Street in Worcester, built in 1894 and still used as a school when it was surveyed. William Forbush of Boston designed it, and local builder B.C. Jaques constructed it for $20,000. The main block is rectangular, with a central pavilion projecting from the east wall. At its center is a two-storey semi-circular bay, flanked by arched entries on the first floor and three-part windows on the second. The pavilion's arches, rock-faced granite trim and conical slate roof draw on Romanesque Revival design, while the trim on the main body is plainer and more utilitarian. The plan and details closely resemble Forbush's Downing Street School of 1891. In 1905-1906 a two-storey brick addition of similar design was built at the rear, designed by J. William Patston of Worcester. The school's architecture and its long role in the city's public education are the reasons for its recognition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect W.R. (William) Forbush of Boston; builder B.C. Jaques; 1905-1906 addition designed by J. William Patston of Worcester","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as present use school, owned by the City of Worcester; original use grammar school, with no change of use noted. Form states it is unaltered and has not been moved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.636989-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/81/7929/63792981/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000595.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000595/4680a852ad-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000595/4680a852ad-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Kenneth C. Zirkel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abbott_Street_School,_Worcester_Massachusetts.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenneth C. Zirkel</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:Abbott_Street_School,_Worcester_Massachusetts.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792981","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbott_Street_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4664380"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/abbott-street-school-80000595/"}