Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think we’ve gone “Back to the Future” with this high school building. According to my research, the new Newton North High School, due to open for business in September 2010, is located on the site of the original high school which was constructed in 1859.
Newton has been debating issues surrounding school construction since the mid-nineteenth century. The discussions began when Massachussetts law mandated that each town with a population of 4000 or more establish a high school. In 1849, a committee was established to argue against the construction of a single high school due to the distance between the varous villages. After various committees and planners hashed the options back and forth, the first stand-alone Newton High was finally built in 1859 and opened with an enrollment of 75 students. The school was located in Newtonville next to the “The Old Elms Estate” an Italianate style mansion located on the athletic fields of the soon to be “old Newton North High School.”
On June 5th, the doors of the current, which is the old, Newton North High School will open to the public with a display of historic memorabilia and more with BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE. The opening event will highlight the creation of a time capsule to mark the occasion. Read more at the Newton North PTSO website. Visit the Facbook page.
So if you follow my irony, in September 2010, we can look forward to touring the new Newton North High School located on the athletic fields of the old Newton North High School which is the site of the original Newton North High School.
Students can look forward to their beautiful state of the art building opening in the fall! Congratulations, Newton!
Sources:
Newton’s 19th Century Architecture, Newtonville, by the Department of Planning and Development, Newton Historical Commissionhttp://www.ci.newton.ma.us/jackson/research/history/pure-high-school.asp
Read more about Newtonville, MA at www.YourNewtonMove.com