English High School is an historic
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
building at 20 Irving Street in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
. Built in 1891, it is a prominent local example of Romanesque Revival architecture, designed by the local form of
Barker & Nourse. It served the city as a high school until 1966, and has housed school administration offices since then. The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1980.
Description and history
The former English High School building is located a few blocks west of Worcester City Hall, at the northwest corner of Irving and Chatham Streets. It is a large three-story building, built out of brick with sandstone trim. The Romanesque Revival building has rectangular massing, with entrances on Chatham and Irving Streets and a five-story, hip roofed chateau-style tower on the corner. The tower features elaborate brick corbelling, gabled wall dormers on each face, and a ring if iron cresting at the top of the roof. Gable sections have decorative brickwork, and the third story windows have arched heads, a feature continued in other parts of the building's exterior and interior.
[
The building was constructed in 1891-92 to a design by Barker & Nourse, who featured it in their trade catalog. It was the city's second high school building; the first, designed by H. H. Richardson, is no longer standing. In 1914, English High School was abolished, and the Classical High School moved from the Richardson building into this building. In 1966 Classical was merged with the High School of Commerce, which had occupied the old Richardson building. The merged schools were relocated to the ]Doherty Memorial High School
Doherty Memorial High School is a public high school located in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It opened its doors in the fall of 1966, replacing two closing schools: Worcester Classical High School and Worcester Commerce High School. ...
on Highland Street. Since that time the building has served as the Durkin Administration Building of the Worcester Public Schools
Worcester Public Schools (WPS) is a school district serving the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest school district in the state behind Boston Public Schools
Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school dis ...
.
The building served as a high school building until 1966, and as school offices thereafter.
Notable alumni
* William Howland (1871–1945), operatic bass, voice teacher, composer, conductor and university administrator. Graduated 1889.
Notable faculty
* G. David Houston (1880-1940), Professor of English at Howard University.
See also
*
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
High schools in Worcester, Massachusetts
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
School buildings completed in 1891
National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts