Historic Boston Incorporated 1999 Preservation Revolving Fund Casebook : Property
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Click here for Summer 2002 Update
| Joseph Barnes School | East Boston |
| • Imposing Renaissance
Revival school building near the Eagle Hill Historic District • Built in response to expansive population growth in East Boston brought about by turn-of-the-century immigration • Owned by the Boston Department of Neighborhood Development, with no plans for reuse • Strong support from East Boston Land Use Council for preservation |
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| Name: Joseph Barnes School | Bldg SqFt: 105,762 | Lot SqFt: 40,000 | |
| Address: 127 Marion Street | Ward: 1 | Parcel: 5980 | |
| Neighborhood: East Boston | Zoning: Two-family Residential Subdistrict | ||
| Year Built: 1901 | Use: Vacant | ||
| Style: Renaissance Revival | Condition: Poor | ||
| Architect(s): John Lyman Faxon | Owner: City of Boston, Department of Neighborhood Development |
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| Historic Certification: National Register eligible | |||
| FY99 Building Assessment: $19,939,500 FY02 Building Assessment: $19,763,200 |
FY99 Tax: N/A FY02 Tax: N/A |
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| FY99 Land Assessment: $1,213,000 FY02 Land Assessment: $1,389,300 |
Tax Status: Exempt | ||
Preservation Strategy:
Encourage maintenance of the building to prevent further deterioration. Explore whether this could be recycled as a school as part of HMI's schools initiative. If not, encourage the city to prepare an RFP and solicit interest in its preservation and rehabilitation.
Significance:
The Joseph H. Barnes Middle School is a monumental Renaissance Revival building located in a quiet residential neighborhood. Built primarily of buff colored brick, the three-story school sets atop an imposing granite basement on the face of a steep hill. An eight bay portico with tall Ionic columns graces the recessed front entrance of the building. The Barnes School served as the East Boston High School from its construction until 1926. The city built the school to serve East Boston’s rapidly expanding population brought about by intensive immigration throughout the 1890s.
Preservation Challenges:
The Boston Public Schools vacated the Barnes School in the 1980s. The Department of Neighborhood Development currently owns the school. DND has no long-term plans to rehabilitate the school or to divest itself of the building. It is unlikely that the state would agree to provide funding to rehabilitate an abandoned public school for educational purposes, preferring to fund new construction instead. The East Boston Land Use Council has voiced strong support in favor of preservation. The land use council would like to see the building transferred to a private charter school or redeveloped as assisted housing for the elderly. One of the most serious obstacles to reuse of the property is its serious shortage of available parking spaces, both on site and on adjacent streets. The main façade of the building shows signs of deterioration and the interior reportedly has asbestos contamination.
Neighborhood Context:
The Barnes School is located in a residential neighborhood near the Eagle Hill Historic District. East Boston is beginning to show signs of a burgeoning real estate market similar to other real estate booms experienced in recent years in the South End, Charlestown, and South Boston. Such a boom would likely make the Barnes School a prime target for residential redevelopment if the city or a developer can solve the tight parking situation.
Other Sources of Information:
MCH inventory form
Entry Completed: 06/04/1999
The Department of Neighborhood Development tentatively designated the East Boston CDC to rehabilitate the Barnes School in 2001. The redevelopment project calls for the creation 74 units of affordable housing for seniors, the restoration of the auditorium for community use, the renovation of the gymnasium to house East Boston Neighborhood Health Care's senior programs, and the excavation of the building's crawl space to create 19-20 parking spaces. East Boston CDC expects a decision about $6.5 million in HUD 202 funding by the end of August and will form a limited partnership to utilize the federal historic preservation tax credit. Construction is expected to begin in the summer or fall of 2003.Update Entry Completed: 08/08/2002
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