{"nrhp_refnum":"84002841","name":"Walnut Street School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"55 Hopkins St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.50865230100004,"lon":-71.10639196399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small wooden Italianate schoolhouse at 55 Hopkins Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built in 1853 and moved to its present site and remodeled in 1883 by architect Horace G. Wadlin. It now serves as a community theater.","why_significant":"It is significant for its long history as a public school, for its remodeling by Horace G. Wadlin, a notable local architect and school committee member, and for retaining 19th-century architectural details. It illustrates the small wooden district schoolhouse once common in Reading but now rare.","narrative":"Built in 1853 as the district schoolhouse for Reading's south district, this small clapboard building at 55 Hopkins Street was regarded as a model of its type, costing about $2,600 to $2,700 including the bell and grading. It originally stood on a triangle of land near Walnut Street and Summer Avenue, and it was moved to Hopkins Street in 1883 after a local controversy. Architect and school committee member Horace G. Wadlin then remodeled it, removing the second story, changing the interior plan and adding side entry porches. The school was renamed Chestnut Hill School and served until 1944. Notable details include a dentil course below a modillion course at the eaves and paired brackets on the gable ends. In 1962 the Quannapowitt Players bought it for use as a community theater. It is valued as a rare surviving example of Reading's small wooden schoolhouses and for its 19th-century detailing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Horace G. Wadlin (remodeling, 1883)","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Used as a community theater by the Quannapowitt Players since 1962; retains the exterior appearance of a frame schoolhouse.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.61833-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/46/7920/63792046/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002841.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002841/48d7fe57d8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002841/48d7fe57d8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_WalnutStreetSchool.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:ReadingMA_WalnutStreetSchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792046","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walnut_Street_School_(Reading,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7963679"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/walnut-street-school-84002841/"}