Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-12-30

| furnished an excellent supper in Washbum
hall.
Tie New High school Building.
| The day having at last arrived or the dedca
ton OF our magnificent high school building
description of the structure will be found of
particular interest this morning TO the people of
our city who have been watching the growth
and development of the project for two years
past. The contract was signed Oh the last day
| Of December, 1850, and operations began on the
| lot the following spring. The site is that Of the
| old high school house, on Maple street, with an
estate in the rear known to the committee as
the Stoddard lot. 1t has front of 175 feet 6
inches on Maple street, with depth of 1871 feet
| 6 inches on Walnut street. The location is on
| land of sufficient height TO give the building
! prominence over all other buildings in the city;
| with magnificent view of the surrounding
| county from the root or tower which latter is
one hundred and sixty-fve feet iii height.
| The building Itself differs materially in style
| from any other in the city. 1t can hardly be
called Gothic, although it is a little on that or
| der of architecture; neither is it classic. On
| the whole, the architecture is of original
| hNolSshl iNNeiNlhs ITO uiOsb olllhlhS tlldldN-
| terlstic from the use of black bricks and
| tile, which form the ornamentatiou. The
| pressed bricks in the walls are Of a
| fine surface and color, set OH TO advantage by
| the granite and freestone trimmings. The main
| entrance, on Maple street, is approached by tlr
| teen broad granite steps-Fitzwam granite
| OF which also are the handsome walls enclosing
the grounds The steps leading to the doors are
| ia two flights leading 10 the right and left and
| turning opposite with a broad step midway,
| the landing having ample space, The stairs are
also of granite, with brick balustrade and free
stone railing, The lofty tower with the clock
| at about half its height rises from the center
| front, and on each corner is turret trimmed
| Qike the tower) with slate in colors and orna-
mental railing. The whole outside appearance,
although extremely difficult to describe, exceeds
in beauty and grandeur any building in the
county, and, as is generally conceded any school
building in the state. The clock and bell each
costing $1,000, were presented, the former by
Mavor Earle, and the latter by VIM. Dickinson,
Esq,
The interior arrangements and finish are on
the same magnificent SCALE The woodwork is
the balusiradcs being of black walnut. In de-
scribing the various rooms, we will begin at the
basement, which is entered by a door under the
grand entrance and also by doors in the north
and south ends--the north designed for the girls
and the south for boys. On opposite sides of
each entrance are the dressing rooms and water
closets, furnished on the most approved plans;
aud in these rooms are seen the starting
points of the ventilation system which
is on the Haynes plan, so arranged that
the air is kept pure without destroying the
warmth, the radiation being both direct and in
dircct-from warmers in the halls and some of
the rooms aud also from coils in the ventilators,
through which the cold air is taken and warm
cd. The currents are governed by registers
throughout the building. The boiler and en-
CINE are entirely out of the way, across the
street. The whole interior of the basement is
left open for a gymnasium and playground in
size 81 by IS.
The first floor, into which the ground
entrance opens, has a spacious hall TWEEN
ty feet wide running the entire length
from north to south, the broad starcases
leading to the upper floors from each
Nhh' hb Wlulu vi luc tiITdUCe MAJ
is 80 feet. On this floor are three school
rooms, each about 2Sx32 feet, with desk room
for fifty pupils; these are located in three
corners the fourth corner-on the southeast
being given to the library which is about one
third larger than the school rooms. Leading to
the right from the main entrance is the princi-
paPs room, from which bells and speaking
tubes communicate with each of the thirteen
school rooms in the house On the west side,
opposite the entrance, are three rooms-the lee
ture room, the laboratory and the room for
philosophical apparatus. The appointments in
each of these are perfect. The lecture room has
a broad table, with a pneumatic trough for ex-
perimcnts by the lecturer, while the seats are
arranged on the amphitheatre plan, giving the
student at the back of the room an equal op
portunity TO see with those at the front The
laboratory is furnished in detail, battling de-
scripdon here There are working facilities for
thirty students.
The second floor has six of the schoolrooms
such as were described on the first floor. We
will, however, describe them further in this
connection by mentioning the fine oak desks of
the Ross normal school pattern, and the black
board ofliquid Slate make extending around the
room. The teachers desk is of black walnut.
The second floor also has the twenty foot wide
hall with stairs at each end leading to the hall
above. Aside from the s,hoolrooms on this floor
there are ladies' and gents dressing rooms for
the use of teachers provided with set bowls,
closets etc.
The upper floor is occupied mainly by the
large hall, in which the interesting dedcatory
exercises are TO be held to-day. Its dimensions
are G0X72 with a half circular platform at the
east side. This does not give Just idea of its
capacity, however, for the schoorooms in the
four corners are provided with folding doors,
which when thrown open bring the rooms
within good hearing and toerable seeing Ills
lance of the platform. These upper schoolrooms
are not yet provided with desks.
The foregoing description purposes to give
the reader some idea of the appearance and ca
pacity of the building, which is the pride of the
city, although the work of another summer
viii he necessary to complete the beauty of the
surroundings. The history of the enterprise
from its first inception, the history of our high
school, the prominent men who have from time
to time been identified with it, and in fact all
that is known of interest in connection with the
whole affair will appear in the addresses of Gov.
Bullock, Mayor Earle Hon. p. Emory Aldrch,
Superintendent A. p. Marble and others, who
will appear upon the platform at its dedication
to the use Of the youth of Worcester.
1t is, therefore, unnecessary to speak further
oil the house and school at this time That the |
credit of the mastery work in its construction
may fall where it is due we will give the names
OF the architects, and Of the contractors and |
sub-contractors, as far as we were informed: |
Inc architects from whose plans the building is |
erected are Gambr & Richardson of New |
York; their agents here, and upon whose care |
and correctness much was depended, are Messrs. |
L arle and Fuller, who have directed the arcbi |
tectura portion of the work from first In last |
The contractors were the Norcross Brothers n |
sample of whose skill stands forth in the beam
tful woodwork; and the contracts left by them
were taken by the following parties: For the
brick work, by Alpheus Walker of this civ: