Hyde School
Also known as: Lee Central School
Why it's listed
Hyde School is a two-story marble school building at 100 High Street in Lee, Massachusetts, completed in 1894 and dedicated on January 1, 1895. James W. Bryning designed it in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, and the Boston firm Woodbury and Leighton built it from coursed, rough-cut white marble quarried in Lee. A four-story tower with a round-arched entry and a belfry anchors the facade, and the building sits on a rise at the head of Academy Street. It replaced Lee Academy, which burned in 1894, and was the town's first school paid for by property taxes from all residents. Later additions came in 1936, 1976 and 1977. The school served Lee as a high school and then an elementary school, and briefly became a quarantine hospital during the 1928 sore throat epidemic. It was listed for its architecture and its role in local education, and it was vacant at the time of listing, having closed as a school in January 2003.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the school is significant for its role in Lee's educational development and as the only Richardsonian Romanesque-style building in town. Its siting at the head of Academy Street makes it a visual landmark, and it is notable for using locally quarried marble. It stands on the site of Lee's first high school, erected in 1837.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04000566, listed June 4, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 100 High St., Lee |
|---|---|
| County | Berkshire County |
| Listed | June 4, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04000566 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1894 to 1954 |
| Architect / builder | James Bryning, Hyde building; Woodbury and Leighton, builder; Morris W. Maloney, 1936 addition |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Romanesque (Richardsonian Romanesque) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as vacant under current functions; in continuous use as a school until January 2003. |
| Acreage | 3.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.30784, -73.24708 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04000566.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5953743
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.