{"nrhp_refnum":"84002088","name":"Barnum School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Barnum St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Taunton","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.89448232500007,"lon":-71.09523023699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick school building on Barnum Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, built in 1926 in the Georgian Revival style. George W. Briggs was the architect and Walter H. Barker the contractor.","why_significant":"It is one of three surviving Taunton schools built in the 1920s in the Georgian Revival style. Its semi-fireproof construction and generously proportioned classrooms made it the most modern school design of its time. It meets criteria A and C and, with the Hopewell School, is among Taunton's best preserved examples of 20th-century public school architecture.","narrative":"Barnum School is a square, two-story brick building on Barnum Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, completed in 1926 in the Georgian Revival style. George W. Briggs designed it, and Walter H. Barker was the contractor. It replaced the earlier Barnum Street School, which burned the same year. The facade has three bays, with a central projecting bay holding the main entrance. Some windows have been filled in and now read as large brick panels. A cornice and brick parapet mark the roofline, and a scrolled plaque with a finial carries the school's name. Semi-fireproof construction and generously proportioned classrooms made it the most modern school design of its day, during a period of continuing educational reform. It is one of three surviving Taunton schools from the 1920s in this style. With the Hopewell School, it is considered among the city's best preserved examples of early twentieth-century public school architecture. It retains its integrity and remains in use as a school.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"George W. Briggs, Architect; Walter H. Barker, Contractor","architectural_style":"Georgian-Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as a school in present use, owned by the City of Taunton; the form records no alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.729599-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/89/7894/63789489/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002088.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002088/6cc41aab91-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002088/6cc41aab91-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barnum_School_Taunton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barnum_School_Taunton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789489","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4862014"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/barnum-school-84002088/"}