Built 1898 (1898) Designated CP September 18, 1989 Area 2,024 m² | NRHP Reference # 84002530 Opened 1898 Added to NRHP 5 July 1984 | |
 | ||
Location 25 Atherton St., Somerville, Massachusetts Part of Spring Hill Historic District (#89001222) Architectural styles Colonial Revival architecture, Renaissance architecture Similar Round House, Rosebud Diner, Somerville Theatre, Wellfleet Drive‑In Theater, Stone Zoo | ||
The Martin W. Carr School is a historic school building located at 25 Atherton Street, in the Spring Hill area of Somerville, Massachusetts. Built in 1898, it is a prominent local example of Colonial and Renaissance Revival architecture, and the only known surviving work of local architect Aaron Gould. It served the local neighborhood as a school until 1980, and was subsequently converted into condominiums. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Description and history
The Martin W. Carr School is located in Spring Hill, one of Somerville's oldest residential subdivisions, at the junction of Atherton and Beech Streets. Its lot extends northward to also abut Cleveland Street. It is a four-story H-shaped brick building, built in 1898 as an elementary school with fourteen classrooms. It was named in honor of Martin W. Carr, a successful Somerville manufacturer who was active in city government serving over the years as alderman, city councilor, and member of the school committee. Carr's factory, in buildings now converted to lofts in Davis Square, manufactured jewelry, novelties, and metal ware. The handsome school building was built of red brick in the Renaissance Revival style to a design by Aaron Gould. Gould was then a prominent local architect who designed a number of significant public buildings, of which none but this now survive.
The City of Somerville closed the Carr School in 1980. The building was sold to a developer who converted it to residential use in 1997. It was initially a rental building and subsequently converted to condos. Today there are 20 condominiums in the Carr School. There are studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedroom condos on three floors plus a lower level.
The Carr School is located across Atherton Street from one of Somerville's most unusual architectural landmarks, the Round House.