Broad Street School

The Broad Street School is a historic former school building at 100 Broad Street in Norwich, Connecticut. The school was designed by New York City architect Wilson Potter and built in 1897. It is a well-executed and well-preserved example of Romanesque styling, and was the largest school built as part of a major construction program by the city.[2] The schoolhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 19, 1984.[1] It has been converted to residential use.

Broad Street School
Location100 Broad Street, Norwich, Connecticut
Coordinates41°32′5″N 72°4′35″W
Area0.8 acres (0.32 ha)
Built1897 (1897)
ArchitectPotter, Wilson
Architectural styleRomanesque
Part ofChelsea Parade Historic District (ID88003215)
NRHP reference No.84001162[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJanuary 19, 1984
Designated CPMay 12, 1989

Description and history

The Broad Street School building is located in a residential area north of downtown Norwich, on a lot bounded on the north by Rockwell Street and the south by Broad Street. It is a two-story masonry structure, with a granite foundation, yellow brick exterior with trim elements of brown brick and granite, and slate hip roof. It is T-shaped in layout, with a central block flanked by slightly projecting wings, and a projecting section at the rear. The central block facade is fronted by a project porch with an arcade of round-arch openings topped by a low balustrade. The arches are finished in brown brick, with a brick stringcourse separating the arches from the porch eave.[2]

The school was built in 1897 to a design by Wilson Potter, a well-known New York City architect who had already executed several commissions for Connecticut school districts. The building's relatively high-style architecture is probably due in part to its placement in what was at the time Norwich's elite residential neighborhood. The school exemplified state-of-the-art thinking about school buildings, providing high ceilings with well-lit classrooms, facilities segregated by grade and sex, and indoor plumbing. The school was among those featured in a state education commissioner's report in 1902.[2] The school close in the late 1970s, and has been converted to residential use.

See also

References

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