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Pearl Street School

1939 establishments in MassachusettsBuildings and structures in Reading, MassachusettsDefunct schools in MassachusettsFormer school buildings in the United StatesNational Register of Historic Places in Reading, Massachusetts
School buildings completed in 1939School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
ReadingMA PearlStreetSchool
ReadingMA PearlStreetSchool

The Pearl Street School is a historic school building at 75 Pearl Street in Reading, Massachusetts. Built in 1939, the two-story brick and limestone building is Reading's only structure built as part of a Public Works Administration project. The site on which it was built was acquired by the town sometime before 1848, and served as its poor farm. With fifteen classrooms, the school replaced three smaller wood-frame schoolhouses in the town's school system, and was its first fire-resistant structure.The school, designed by local architect George H. Sidebottom, is stylistically a mix of Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, and Art Deco styles. The walls are predominantly brick, with limestone and wooden trim, and the cornice is decorated with modillions. These features, and the 12-over-12 double hung windows, are typical Colonial Revival features. The building has a basic U-shaped plan, with projecting pavilions on the left and right ends, and the front facade. The legs of the U are irregular: the right-side leg is a rectangular ell, while the left side one is an irregular polygonal shape. The projecting pavilions are a typical Classical Revival feature. Art Deco surrounds frame the windows on these pavilions, and there are brick pilasters that frame the Art Deco surrounds on the entryways that are centered in each pavilion.The building served Reading as an elementary school until 1984, when it was closed due to declining enrollment. The school board leased it to a variety of tenants, and turned it over to the town selectmen in 1989, who sold the building in 1995.The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. It now houses the Residence at Pearl Street assisted living residence.

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Pearl Street School
Pearl Street,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 42.530555555556 ° E -71.098888888889 °
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Pearl Street
01867
Massachusetts, United States
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ReadingMA PearlStreetSchool
ReadingMA PearlStreetSchool
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Common Historic District (Reading, Massachusetts)
Common Historic District (Reading, Massachusetts)

The Common Historic District is a historic district encompassing the civic and institutional heart of Reading, Massachusetts. The district is centered on the town common, at the intersection of Main and Salem Streets. The common has been communally owned since at least 1737, with the original burying ground (expanded in the 19th century, and now known as Laurel Hill Cemetery) to the north. In 1769 the area's first meeting house (church and civic building) was built, giving the area a sense of identity separate from portions of Reading that would later be set off as Wakefield and North Reading. Since then the area has become a focal point for religious and civic institutions in the town.The most prominent feature of the district is the First Congregational Church, a 1913 replica of an 1817 church designed by Asher Benjamin that was destroyed by fire. The other church in the district is the stone Gothic Revival Christian Science Church on the west side of the common. The west side also includes the major municipal buildings: the library and town hall are brick Georgian Revival buildings dating to the early 20th century, as does the similarly-styled old high school building.There are also a few houses in the district, although a number of the older houses originally within its boundaries were moved to make way for some of the municipal buildings. One of the older houses is the 1817 Federal style house and shop of Thomas Pratt, located at the northeastern corner of the district. There is a row of 19th-century houses along Harnden and Salem Streets on the east side of the district. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.