The Jordan School is a historic school building at 35 Wood Street in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...

. Built in 1902, it is an important local example of

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

architecture, designed by the architect William R. Miller. It served as the city's first purpose-built high school, and has been converted to residential use. It was 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 1984.

Description and history

The former Jordan School building stands on the southeast side of Wood Street, in a residential area between the city's commercial downtown and the

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

campus. It occupies a lot that spans all the way to Nichols Street, with its principal facade facing a parking lot to the southwest. It is a three-story masonry structure, built out of brick with granite trim. The main facade is fourteen bays wide, divided into three sections separated by slightly projecting entry and stair houses. The outer sections are three bays wide, with keystoned sash windows on the first two floors. The projecting sections, two bays wide, have entrances recessed in Romanesque round-arch openings. The center section is the most elaborate, with paired windows separated by pilasters on the second and third floors, topped by rounded arches above. This section has a higher roofline than the outer wings, joining the pyramid-roofed projecting sections. The city's high school was founded in 1850, and originally met at a site now occupied by the

Dingley Building The Dingley Building, formerly the Oak Street School, is a historic municipal building at 36 Oak Street in Lewiston, Maine. Built in 1890, it is a distinctive local example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, designed by local architect Geor ...

. In 1859 it moved to a building in Main Street. In 1902, this school was built, becoming the first dedicated home to the high school. In 1931, the high school was moved to a new facility, and this became a junior high school, serving in that role until 1983. The building was then converted to apartments. The school was named for Lyman G. Jordan, principal of the first high school for 15 years,

professor of chemistry and biology, and member of the Lewiston school board. The building continues to serve as an apartment building today.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places School buildings completed in 1902 School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Schools in Lewiston–Auburn, Maine National Register of Historic Places in Lewiston, Maine 1902 establishments in Maine Educational buildings in Lewiston, Maine

Description and history

See also

References