National Register of Historic Places

Johnson School

North Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Listed
October 24, 1985
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
85003416

About this property

The Johnson School is a historic former school building on School Street in North Adams, Massachusetts. Built about 1898, this Romanesque Revival school is a significant work of the prominent local architect Edwin Thayer Barlow. It was the last of the city's neighborhood schools to be closed. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It is now used for Head Start and other social programs. The Johnson School is located on the north side of School Street, occupying the entire block between Williams and Cady Streets in the city's Amity Square neighborhood. It is a two-story brick building, with a hip roof and granite foundation, with red sandstone trim elements. The roof is pierced on three sides by gabled center sections, that on the southern side, over the main entrance, more prominent than the others. The main facade is nine bays wide, the central three (below the gable) slightly recessed. Windows in the outer bays are set in segmented-arch openings, with sandstone sills and brick lintels with slightly projecting keystones. Windows in the central section are set in square openings with stone lintels and sills, except in the gable, where there are three windows set in round-arch openings. The main entrance is recessed in a round-arch opening with brick pilasters at the corners. The interior of the school retains significant original finishes. The school was built in 1896 to a design by Edwin Thayer Barlow, a prominent local architect, at a time when the surrounding neighborhood was experiencing significant growth. In 1924 the school was enlarged, to a sympathetic design by Springfield architect Newton Bond. The school was one of the last neighborhood school in North Adams to be closed, and is now used for Head Start and other social programs. National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Media related to Johnson School (North Adams, Massachusetts) at Wikimedia Commons

Location

North Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts
42.70501, -73.11837

Categories

EDUCATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Hathaway Tenement
Industrial
0.1 mi
Johnson Manufacturing Company
Industrial
0.2 mi
Arnold Print Works
Industrial
0.3 mi
Armstrong House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Hillside Cemetery
Early Republic
0.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Johnson School listed on the National Register?

Johnson School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 24, 1985.

What type of historic resource is Johnson School?

Johnson School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Johnson School?

The period of significance for Johnson School is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Johnson School?

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