{"nrhp_refnum":"84002643","name":"Highland School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"64 Middlesex Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.526048984000056,"lon":-71.11038592499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Highland School is a brick public school at 64 Middlesex Avenue in Reading, Massachusetts, built in 1896-97 for the Town of Reading and designed by Horace G. Wadlin.","why_significant":"The nomination cites the school's role in the residential development of the Reading Highlands, its link to local architect Horace G. Wadlin, and its commanding presence in the neighborhood. It is also described as an excellent example of Second Renaissance Revival style and as Reading's architecturally most distinguished school building.","narrative":"Highland School, at 64 Middlesex Avenue in Reading, is a two-story brick school on a high basement, built in 1896-97 for the Town of Reading to designs by Horace G. Wadlin. It sits on a corner plot atop a good-sized hill. Light-yellow brick marks the classroom floors, while the basement is dark red, and an egg-and-dart string course divides the two. Arched windows, granite keystones, a center pavilion with porte cochere and four large chimneys give it a distinctive profile, though towers and turrets were removed in the 1960s. The school served the growing Reading Highlands, an area opened by the 1873 depot and new streets. In 1902 it taught grades 4-8, and the junior high used its first floor from 1915 to 1927. Land and construction cost about $55,000. Described as Reading's most architecturally distinguished school, it reflects the importance the town placed on school buildings around 1900. School use ended in 1981.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Horace G. Wadlin","architectural_style":"Second Renaissance Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"School use was discontinued in 1981. Towers and turrets were removed in the 1960s.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.834666-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/7918/63791899/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002643.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002643/76b9c24d75-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002643/76b9c24d75-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highland_School,_Reading_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highland_School,_Reading_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791899","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Public_Library_(Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715536"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/highland-school-84002643/"}