Built 1931 Opened 1931 Architecture firm Kilham & Hopkins | NRHP Reference # 09000437 Area 1 ha Added to NRHP 25 September 2009 | |
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Location 7 Stedman Rd., Lexington, Massachusetts Architectural style Colonial Revival architecture Similar Lexington Battle Green, Munroe Tavern, Scottish Rite Masonic, Mary Cummings Park, Wellfleet Drive‑In Theater | ||
The Franklin School is a historic former school building at 7 Stedman Rd. in Lexington, Massachusetts. Built in 1931, it is the only school built by the town in the period of the Great Depression. The Georgian Revival structure was designed by architects Kilham, Hopkins & Greeley. It served as a public school until 1985, when it was converted to the Franklin School Apartments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
Description and history
The former Franklin School is set on the east side of Stedman Road, a short road in a residential area of southern Lexington. The school stands at the front of a complex that includes five modern apartment buildings. It is a 2-1/2 story Georgian Revival structure, built out of load-bearing red brick, with a central section flanked on each side by matching 1-1/2 story wings. The roof of the main section is gambreled, with a center gable section that has an octagonal louvered opening at its center. Windows on both levels are groups of sash, organized 5-4-5, separated by the piers that support the gable. The projecting wing sections have groups of three windows facing to the front. The basic layout of the school's interior has been retained despite its conversion into apartments, which have been carefully fitted into classroom, office, and other spaces, retaining the brick-walled hallways. In the basement the utility areas of the building retain their original function.
The school was built in 1931, in response to growth in the town's population during the 1920s, and was one of the last major construction projects in the town until the 1960s. In 1958 additions were made to this school, but they were removed as part of its apartment conversion.