Dearborn School, in Boston, Massachusetts
Dearborn School is a three-story brick building constructed in 1905 and designed in the Beaux Arts style by architect Edwin James Lewis Jr. The structure features red brick walls, tall windows, decorative stone details, and symmetrical classical proportions characteristic of important public buildings from that era.
The school was built in 1905 and named after Henry A. S. Dearborn, a former Boston mayor, serving as an educational center for neighborhood children until the 1980s. It remains the only building left standing from a major urban redevelopment project that transformed the area around 1950.
The school originally served as a vocational training center for young women and became deeply connected to the African American community and civil rights movements in Boston. Its presence in Roxbury reflects the neighborhood's identity as a center for education and social progress throughout the 20th century.
The building is located on Ambrose Street in Roxbury and can be viewed from the street since it has been converted to residential use. A walking tour of the neighborhood is the best way to appreciate the historic architecture and see how it fits into the surrounding area.
The school is the sole surviving structure from a major urban redevelopment project in the 1950s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Notably, artist Lois Mailou Jones received her early art education here and went on to become a renowned African American painter.
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