Secretary Galvin to Present Historic Preservation Award to Church Street Senior Housing, Ware

October 23, 2009 - Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin, Chairman of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, announces the selection of Ware High School in Ware to receive a 2009 Massachusetts Historical Commission Historic Preservation Award. With this recent adaptive reuse project, the building was renamed Church Street Senior Housing.

“The Massachusetts Historical Commission is proud to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of this year’s awardees,” said Secretary Galvin. “The projects the Commission is recognizing this year are particularly diverse and represent the many creative ways significant historic resources are being preserved across the Commonwealth. I commend HAP, Inc., for the sensitive adaptive reuse of Ware High School into affordable senior housing; the project has restored this significant local property and provides an important resource for the community.”

Ware High School was an active school from 1893 to 1998. It was built in two phases: the main school building of red and yellow brick in 1893, and the annex of red brick, between 1923 and 1926. The Classical Revival structure was designed by the architectural firm of Loring and Phipps. After the school’s closing in 1998, the now vacant building fell into disrepair and suffered much vandalism. The recent adaptive reuse and rehabilitation project converted the former high school into affordable senior housing while maintaining many original features. All of the original hallway partitions were retained and restored, and dropped ceilings were removed, exposing the full partitions and decorative niches. Stairs in both the original building and the annex were retained, as were some original blackboards and decorative interior windows. The original window configuration of the 1893 building was restored, and a new connector was constructed between the original building and the annex. Ware High School is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building in the Church Street Historic District.

This is the 31st year of MHC’s Preservation Awards program. Projects are considered annually for awards in the categories of Rehabilitation and Restoration, Adaptive Reuse, Education and Outreach, Archaeology, and Landscape Preservation. Individuals are considered in the categories of Individual Lifetime Achievement and Local Preservationist. Secretary Galvin serves as the chair of the 17-member Massachusetts Historical Commission.

Secretary Galvin will present the awards at an afternoon ceremony on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, at the Massachusetts Archives Building at 220 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester. The Ware High School adaptive reuse project is one of 10 projects to be honored.