The Valentine School is a historic school at Grape and Elm Streets in

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. C ...

. Built in 1898 to a design by

George P. B. Alderman George Perkins Bissell Alderman (September 20, 1862 – November 3, 1942), often referred to as George P. B. Alderman was an American architect who was very active in western Massachusetts and Connecticut during the late 19th and early 20th Cent ...

, it is a prominent local eхample of Renaissance Revival architecture. It was individually listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1983, and included as part of the

Springfield Street Historic District The Springfield Street Historic District is a predominantly residential historic district (United States), historic district south of the downtown area of Chicopee, Massachusetts. It encompasses a significant number of Queen Anne style houses b ...

in 1991. The building has been converted to residential use.

Description and history

The former Valentine School is located a short way east of downtown Chicopee, at the eastern corner of Grape and Elm Streets. It is a two-story masonry structure, built out of red brick with sandstone trim. Its front, facing Elm Street, consists of a series of stepped projections. Its ground floor is laid in courses that are periodically recessed, giving a rusticated appearance, and is topped by a band of brick corbelling. Windows on that level are set in rectangular openings, with stone sills and lintels. The second floor windows are set in round-arch openings with surrounding sandstone arches. The main entrance is at the center of the facade, recessed with stairs under a large round-arch opening, with a

Palladian window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

on the second floor above. The facade is crowned by a metal cornice with scroll

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

s. The school was built in 1898-99 to a design by

, a regionally prominent architect from

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

. It was connected by a tunnel to an older school on the same lot, which was demolished in the 1950s. It served as a public school until the 1980s, and has since been converted into apartments, with additional apartment blocks added at one corner of the property.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Hampden County, Massachusetts Schools in Chicopee, Massachusetts Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References