BOSTON LATIN AND ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOLS.

PLANS AND DESCRIPTION OF NEW BUILDING.

BY JOHN D. PHILBRICK, LL.D.,

Superintendent of Boston Schools from 1856 to 1878.

SIR:

LETTER TO DR. HENRY BARNARD.

You are pleased to honor me with a request for a letter about the new edifice in Boston, for the Public Latin and English High Schools, to be published in the International Series of your "American Journal of Education."

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Remarkable coincidence! Just a third of a century ago, at your request, I furnished for your great pioneer book on school-house building — with the title of "School Architecture; or Contributions to the Improvement of School-houses in the United States" description of the Quincy School-house in Tyler street, Boston, which had been built for the grammar school then under my charge as master, the first building of the type which, in its essential features, has since been adopted for graded public schools throughout the country. No one can tell, I believe, to whom the credit of the plan of the Quincy School-house was directly due. Not to me certainly; but that school-house was the first in the construction and furnishing of which I had any voice. You come again now to ask me after the close of my long career, demanding continual efforts for improving school accommodations - to furnish you with an account of the last school building with which I was officially concerned, and the one upon which I bestowed the most thought and labor during my superintendency; the building which is, without question, by far the best specimen of school architecture in the country, the first conspicuous example of a new type, which is, I think, destined to be adopted no less generally than has been the case with the Quincy School type, the three essential characteristics of which it has, namely, an adequate school-room for each teacher, an assembly hall large enough to seat all the pupils of the school, and a separate desk and chair for each pupil.

It affords me special satisfaction to comply with your request for a sketch, historical and descriptive, of this remarkable building,

The SCHOOL HOUSE into which Mr. Cheever was installed as the "sole Master," by the Honourable Govenor, and Magistrates of the Colony, the Elders of the Churches, and Selectmen of the Town of Boston, and in which he continued to sway "the rod of empire" for thirty-five years over "govenors, judges, miuisters, magistrates, and merchants yet in their teens," is thus represented.*

The SCHOOL itself under his long, faithful, and distinguished services became the principal classical school not only of Massachusetts Bay, but according to Rev. Dr. Prince, " of the British Colonies, if not of all America."

*For this vignette of Mr. Cheever's School-house, we are indebted to the Rev. Edward E. Hale, of Worcester.

"Cheever's school-house occupied land on the North side of School street, nearly opposite the present Horticultural Hall. It was large enough to contain one hundred and fifty pupils. At the present time, the east wall of the Stone Chapel stands on the site of the old building, which was removed, after much controversy, to make room for the building of the Chapel, in 1748. The outline of the old building, and some general sketch of its appearance appear on an old map of Boston, dated 1722, of which, a copy is now in possession of Mr. Pulsifer, of Boston. On this map, every building was represented, on the spot it occupied. with some effort at precision. From this map Cheever's school-house is represented in this sketch. King's Chapel is drawn from a view of more pretensions, representing the whole town, from a point above the harbor, in 1744. In that view. unfortunately, Cheever's school-house does not appear. As King's Chapel was materially enlarged in 1710, it has been represented here as being, in Cheever's time, somewhat shorter than in the authority alluded to. In an early print, described by Dr. Greenwood, a crown was represented below its vane, which has, therefore, been placed there in this sketch."

Mr. Gould introduces into his notice of the controversy which attended the removal of the old school house, to make room for an enlargement of the church, the following im. promptu epigram written by Joseph Green, Esqr., and sent to Mr. Lovell in the School, when it was announced that the town had agreed to grant permission to the proprietors of King's Chapel to take down the old house.

A fig for your learning: I tell you the Town,

To make the church larger, must pull the school down
Unluckily spoken, replied Master Birch-

Then learning, I fear, stops the growth of the Church.

We are also indebted to the Rev. Edward Everett Hale, for the opportunity of consulting his own "Notes for a History of the Latin School of Boston," [in which he has transcribed one of Cheever's Latin Dissertations from the "Cheever Manuscripts," in the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a synopsis of the rest, as well as a letter in Latin to his son, afterward the Rev. T. Cheever, of Marblehead, who had asked his consent to marry a young lady of Salem,] and other valuable memoranda and assistance.

because you are most competent, not only to judge of its merits, but also to appreciate the difficulties which have been surmounted in the achievement of the work. There is also a manifest fitness in thus addressing to you my account of this educational edifice as a sort of a recognition, on my part, of your invaluable services in this department of school economy. You are familiar with the growth and development of American school architecture, from its rudimentary stage, in which you found it on entering upon your lifework as an educator almost simultaneously with Horace Mann, up to its present degree of comparative excellence. Of this great improvement you, more than any other man, have the right to say magna pars fui. I remember that a distinguished German educator, on receiving the first edition of your remarkable work on Dr. Barnard has the subject, more than thirty years ago, said, added a new name [school architecture] to the vocabulary, and a new department to the literature, of education." And now a Swiss educationist of the first rank, in a general history of education, says, Barnard was for Connecticut and Rhode Island what Mann was for Massachusetts. Never has a man labored so much for schools. His School Architecture is a classic book, which has transformed the buildings and furniture for schools."

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This edifice, which has come to be designated as the "New High School-house," is, in fact, composed of two complete and essentially independent school-houses, nearly identical in size, plan, and design, and fronting on two parallel streets 220 feet apart; no apartments being intended for the common use of the two schools except the hall for military drill and the gymnathe of one sium, which, together, constitute structures. The whole scheme has not yet been consummated; the connecting structure shown on the plan of the first floor" as fronting on Dartmouth street, and intended as the administration building for the School Board and its officers, exists as yet only on paper, a portion of the site being still occupied by five substantial brick houses.

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For a very important part of the materials for this letter I am indebted to several of the contractors, and to a number of city officials; but especially to the accomplished and indefatigable City Architect, Mr. George A. Clough, to whose good taste, practical skill, and rigorous fidelity, the superior excellency of the building is very largely due.

THE SITE AND ITS PURCHASE.

The plan of associating two great schools in immediate proximity on one lot is, I believe, nowhere recommended or sanctioned in your comprehensive publications on school architecture. These schools were so placed, not from choice, but as the result of necessity. Separate and independent sites would have been preferred by the most intelligent members of the School Board; but, under the circumstances, it was impracticable to obtain good separate sites. It is doubtful if the associated arrangement has resulted in any saving of expense in building. One advantage, however, is derived from it, namely, convenience in the use of the drill-hall. As the gymnasium is twice as large as would be necessary for one of the schools, its cost was probably little less than two sufficient separate ones would have been. And, indeed, it was originally intended to be finished in two separate apartments, each school having its own. This may still be done.

Both institutions to be accommodated being central schools of the same grade, presumably of about the same size, and for pupils of the same sex, a site having the requisites for the one would be equally suitable for the other. This site comes near being all that could be reasonably desired for such schools, -being of good size; near the centre of population; convenient of access; not on a great thoroughfare, and yet near several; bounded by streets having, and likely to have, little traffic; open to light and air; peculiarly fortunate in its exposure to sunshine; and with surroundings and a neighborhood absolutely free from everything objectionable.

The acquisition of this site by the city deserves mention; a full account of it would constitute a curious, and not the least instructive, chapter in our municipal history. It took upwards of two years for the two sub-committees representing the Latin and English High Schools, and the School Board, to come to an agreement to ask the City Council to purchase the lot. This occurred in May, 1872. Among the members most active and influential in bringing about this result, the most prominent were the Hon. Henry S. Washburn, chairman of the Committee on the Latin School, and the Rev. S. K. Lothrop, D.D., who was for so many years chairman of the Committee on the English High School.