Butler School
Why it's listed
Butler School is a large brick grammar school on Gorham Street in Lowell, Massachusetts, built in 1882 to a Queen Anne design by Frederick W. Stickney. A gabled pavilion marks the seven-bay facade, and the hipped slate roof carries gables and dormers. A matching brick addition was completed in 1895 to ease overcrowding as enrollment rose with the expansion of the Lowell textile mills and the Lowell Bleachery. The school was named for Benjamin F. Butler, a member of the first Lowell High School class. It housed grammar, junior high and evening classes before serving as an elementary school, and its period of significance ends in 1920, when Lowell introduced junior high schools. The building is valued for showing how the city's school system grew and how its interiors were arranged for graded teaching, and for its well-preserved Queen Anne design. It is now vacant and needs exterior repair and repainting.
Significance in brief: Under Criterion A, the school reflects the late 19th century growth of Lowell's school system, which expanded to serve a population swelled by textile industry growth. Under Criterion C, it is a well-preserved example of the Queen Anne style adapted to a school building, with an 1895 addition that matches the original.
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 94001634, listed February 2, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 812 Gorham St., Lowell |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | February 2, 1995 |
| Reference number | 94001634 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1882-1920 |
| Architect / builder | Frederick W. Stickney |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is listed as vacant, not in use; the exterior is described as needing considerable repairs and repainting. |
| Acreage | 1.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.63057, -71.30776 (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 94001634.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5002647
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.