Vacant Elementary School Building in Portland ME

Nathan Clifford School, Portland Maine

Date added: November 24, 2024

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Maine
School
John Stevens

View of facade (north) and side (east) elevations (2013)

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The 1909 Nathan Clifford School served as an anchor of the Oakdale neighborhood in Portland, Maine for over one hundred years. Hailed as a model for other school districts when the building opened in 1909, the school features sixteen classrooms, a teacher's room (with a fireplace), a principal's room (also with fireplace) and an adjoining reception area, washrooms and a gym in the basement, and an auditorium on the third floor. A sight-saving class for visually impaired students was offered beginning in 1932 and extended until 1964, when it was closed due to declining enrollment. This was the only program of its kind in the state, and provided students with poor eyesight the opportunity to learn in an environment where studies (often done orally) and equipment were designed specifically for them. The Nathan Clifford School was designed by John Calvin Stevens (1855-1940). Stevens was Portland's leading architect, and designed the building with his son and partner John Howard Stevens (1879-1958). The massing, design, and layout of this Classical Revival structure reflects conscious decisions by Stevens and his son to incorporate the latest advances in technology and educational recommendations, while utilizing space in an efficient, and thought-out manner. Although he designed many schools, the Nathan Clifford School is one of John Calvin Stevens' finest examples in the Classical Revival Style.

The Nathan Clifford School was built in the Oakdale neighborhood of Portland from 1907-1909 and designed by notable Portland architect John Calvin Stevens (1855-1940) and his son and partner, John Howard Stevens (1879-1958). When the school's doors opened to students in April 1909, the building was state-of-the-art for its time period, and served as a model to others across the country.

Portland's educational legacy goes back to the early decades of the area, but from its roots, it is difficult to fully grasp its importance to the greater state of Maine and beyond. Coming out of the seventeenth century, when educational decrees were ignored until absolutely necessary, Portland's education system may have been slow in establishment, but it was quick in advancement and proliferation. The city boasted many "firsts" in southern Maine-the first evening school, the first high school, the first manual training program.

In 1932, the Nathan Clifford School became home to another first, a sight-saving class for visually impaired students in Portland and surrounding areas. Portland's sight-saving program was modeled after existing programs in New York City and Boston, which had begun some three to four years prior. The idea was made possible in Portland through the interest of several city educators, outside benefactors, and parents. Portland's class, the only one of its kind in the state, was made up of a small number of students of various ages (grades three through eight), was led by a single teacher, and featured equipment that was specially designed to help students with such afflictions, ruled non-glare paper with larger spaces between the lines, bigger pieces of chalk, large print books, and typewriters with blank keys. Desks were set at an angle to receive the most light with the tops tipped for easier vision, and students did a substantial amount of oral reciting and learning by ear. "There can be no more important phase of health in school work than the conservation of sight," the Portland Sunday Telegram reported in 1932 upon the establishment of the program. "A very definite way to save the most valuable of the five senses was introduced by the Portland School system this Fall … Now all of Maine will turn to look upon the six little folks with their charming teacher. They make up the new sight-saving class, the only one in the state." This program, which represents a significant contribution to Portland's educational legacy, was in operation until 1964, when declining enrollment forced the district to stop the program. Taught by just two teachers during the program's thirty-two-year history (Beatrice Berry and Sara Hollywood), the sight-saving class typically had enrollment numbers of a dozen children or less, and it was estimated that close to 300 students were taught from the courses' inception to its closing.

The Nathan Clifford School is one of many schools that John Calvin Stevens designed. As a graduate of the Portland school system and a resident of Portland, Stevens had been witness to or had knowledge of many of the changes and advancements the city's educational system provided its students. As a master architect with experience designing school buildings, Stevens was undoubtedly aware of the recommendations and requirements of entities such as the Maine State Board of Education were mandating. Finally, as a father of grown children who might have (or already did have) offspring who would attend Portland schools, Stevens was likely aware of the proximity of the Nathan Clifford School to his own home on Bowdoin Street, and that of his relatives; it is known that his grandson Howard Stevens (son of fellow Nathan Clifford School designer John Howard Stevens) attended the school from 1920-24.

In comparison to other schools designed by John Calvin Stevens (including examples in Waterville, Westbrook, Houlton, Hebron, and Sanford), the Nathan Clifford School represents Stevens' best example in the Classical Revival style; it also happened to be one of the last schools he designed. Although Stevens mostly designed in the Shingle and Classical Revival styles, many of his schools were Queen Anne in inspiration. His design for the Forest Street Grammar School in Westbrook (thirteen years before the Nathan Clifford School was built} was Classical in style, but lacks the restrained decorative detailing and cohesiveness achieved at the Nathan Clifford School. In terms of John Calvin Stevens' other designs for school buildings, the Nathan Clifford School stands out for its style and unification.

Construction on the school began in 1907, with John Calvin Stevens and his son, John Howard Stevens, designing the structure. According to the city auditor's annual report, Portland expended $93,448.61 ($2,000 of that being paid to the Stevens' firm) towards the construction of the school in 1908. By the time the building was opened to students on April 1^st, 1909, it was clear that the Stevens' had not only put much thought into the layout the design of the school, but had incorporated all the relevant new innovations of the time period. Comprising 45,664 square feet, the masonry-built Nathan Clifford School was a Classical Revival structure meant to hold hundreds of students from the Oakdale neighborhood and beyond.

After its official opening on April 1^st, a lengthy article in Portland's Eastern Argus described details of the school's forward-thinking design. Comprised of sixteen classrooms, the article revealed that only eight of the classrooms would be in use until students from the Jackson, Butler, Winslow, and West End schools began in the fall; this was expected to help alleviate already crowded conditions at those locations. Seven of these rooms would be used for classrooms, and one for Professor R.E. Rowe, the school's instructor in writing and drawing, who would "begin a somewhat new system at this school of having the pupils assemble in a room assigned for instruction instead of the teacher going from room to room."

The entire building was wired for electric lighting (Tungsten light being exclusively used), and each classroom was outfitted with a desk lamp and connections for a "plug box" behind the teacher's desks, allowing teachers to work after dusk if necessary. Seats within every classroom were arranged so light came over the left shoulder of the student and were adjustable to fit the heights of every individual. Each room had a storage closet, with a larger supply room on the second floor for teachers to use. The heating and ventilation system was the "latest and most approved system whereby there is a constant circulation of filtered air heated to the desired temperature and controlled by a thermostat arrangement … "

Great attention was paid to safe conditions of a physical and sanitary nature within the Nathan Clifford School. Every floor had a janitor's closet with hot and cold running water, and a chute that ran from the top floor to the boiler room in the basement that allowed for easy disposal of dirt and rubbish." The bathrooms in the basement had a specially designed system where foul air was carried by ducts to the open air at the building's roof, and each bathroom was equipped with several individual wash stands. Every floor had a drinking fountain at either end of the hallway so that dippers and buckets were no longer necessary. According to the Eastern Argus, this was reported to be an innovation "contrived on the plan of bubbling springs with a constant flow of water. In order to get a drink one has to bend over a miniature spout as if bending to drink from a small flowing stream. Nearly everyone about the building yesterday had to try the new drinking fountains."

In addition to sanitary concerns, fire safety in the building was a leading factor in design. Portland was familiar with the dangers of fire, and efforts were made to ensure preventative measures were put in place at the Nathan Clifford School. Among these measures, of course, was the very building material of the school. Constructed of buff brick masonry, the building was "as near fire proof as possible." Further precautions were taken with the installation of a hose seventy-five feet in length placed at each end of the hallway on every floor that was attached with pipes to the water main at street level, having full hydrant pressure. Stairways and doors were arranged for efficient evacuation of the building in the event of an emergency, and the first floor had four exits with doors having a "fire exit latch" that allowed any small child to easily open the door.

The quality of school design at the Nathan Clifford School was recognized and promoted immediately after the building was erected. Just three years before the Nathan Clifford School was built, the Office of the Maine State Commissioner of Education published a book outlining the state's recommendations and requirements for all aspects of school buildings, including guidelines for the width of halls, the need for a hook for each child to hang his or her clothing on, requirements for the size of classrooms, and recommendations for the placement and height of classroom windows. Stevens was undoubtedly aware of this publication (and likely aware of others), and designed the Nathan Clifford School accordingly. Built to alleviate over-crowding at the Oakdale School, the Nathan Clifford School featured classrooms with large windows, chalkboards that ran around each room as much as possible, and desks that were adjustable to each specific student's height. There were fire-fighting and sanitary systems in place, indoor washrooms in the basement with special ventilation, and multiple drinking fountains on each floor. These details served to elevate the Nathan Clifford School to the status of a model school, and a picture of it was featured in the 1910 national publication School Architecture: A Handy Manual for the Use of Architects and School Authorities by William George Bruce. The Nathan Clifford School utilized many features Bruce recommended for school buildings, including its architect-conceived H-shape layout, use of water fountains, light that passed over the student's left shoulder, playroom, teacher's room, and principal's room with an adjoining reception area to receive guests.

City of Portland History

The history of Portland, Maine is turbulent. Throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth, and first three-quarters of the nineteenth century, the area was destroyed four times and felt the losses associated with four wars. Although its settlers were weary of establishing cultural practices and institutions while life itself was so unpredictable and other needs more pressing, when advances did happen throughout the coming centuries, they were often ahead of their time. This can be said of a number of innovations that occurred in the Portland area throughout its history, from manufacturing and trade to transportation and education.

The area that would become the city of Portland had its first permanent settler in 1628, when Walter Bagnall set up a trading post on Richmond Island. More settlers soon came to the area, often establishing themselves in the fish and fur trade, or setting up mills for the lucrative opportunities that presented themselves. The area was called Falmouth, and included what is today Portland, South Portland, Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth, and Westbrook. Massachusetts assumed governance of the Province of Maine in 1677, this meant that Maine fell under the Massachusetts school laws of the 1640s, which stipulated that townships with fifty households appoint one person as teacher, with wages paid by the parents or masters of the children. When townships reached 100 households, residents were ordered to set up a grammar school to instruct youth for university (what we now call high school). Maine did not comply with these laws, as such cultural advances took a backseat to more immediate concerns, such as mere survival. It was not until around 1700 that schools were maintained regularly. Settlers came to Maine for fishing and trade with the Native Americans; as a result, the Maine population was not only small in number, but non-homogeneous in matters regarding religion, nationality, and language. It is no wonder, then, that an early educational system was slow in coming.

Despite its rocky start, by 1675 the area had some stability, there was a meetinghouse on what was termed 'The Neck' (the town proper located on the peninsula), and more than 400 inhabitants settled within a short radius of one another. As the area was located between French Canada and its Native American allies and the English colonies, however, stability was fleeting; Falmouth was often the stage for some of the worst battles of the Colonial period and was destroyed in 1678 and 1690. After a period of rebuilding, there were no further conflicts with the French or Native Americans after 1716, and Falmouth enjoyed some fifty years of growth and prosperity.

This growth and prosperity did not mean that the area began to comply with Massachusetts' education laws, however. In 1729 Falmouth was threatened with severe penalties as a result of the lack of conformity to the 1647 law, and it was not until four years later that the town's first schoolmaster was hired. Generally, townspeople could not raise enough money for their schools, making the salaries so low it was hard to attract full-time teachers. Stephen Longfellow (great-grandfather of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) became the first full-time teacher in the area in 1745, establishing the first of many private schools that flourished in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In the years before the American Revolution, Falmouth's wealth and population had grown implicitly. Its position as an ideal natural harbor ensured that the area was a leading maritime center, with lumber making up the base of its prosperity.

Unfortunately, Falmouth's wealth and prosperity was not to last; with the Revolution came Falmouth's next bout with destruction. The town entered into conflict with a local Tory and captain of a British sloop of war and was both bombarded and burned by British seamen who landed on shore. All told, 414 of the town's 500 buildings were destroyed. Not to be held back, the settlement was once again rebuilt, and slowly began to regain its footing-business gradually increased, banking institutions were set up, and the first newspaper in the state was established. In the years before the Revolution, Portland had been one of nine towns in Maine to establish grammar schools, one of these Portland schools was open up to 1820, and required the master to be proficient in both Greek and Latin.

On July 4^th, 1786 the area formerly known as The Neck officially separated from Falmouth and adopted the name Portland, becoming the state's forty-sixth town; although Portland was the smallest of these towns in area, it boasted a population of nearly 2,000 people, making it the fourth largest in the state. Despite its small geographic area, Portland experienced a period of tremendous growth, and the population more than quadrupled from 1786 to 1820. Education in the city flourished, as well. A 1789 law enlarged the elementary school curriculum by requiring the instruction of reading, writing, English language, orthography, arithmetic, and proper behavior. By the end of the eighteenth century, Portland schools were teaching reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and geography (a subject that seems to have been first taught in Portland before any other town in the District of Maine). The Portland Academy was established in 1803, and provided the first instance of co-ed education in the state, with either sex seated on separate sides of the classroom.

On March 15^th, 1820, Maine officially separated from Massachusetts and became the twenty-third state in the Union. At that time, Maine had 236 towns with elementary schools supported by public taxation, and twenty-five academies. Portland served as the new state's capitol until 1832, when that distinction was transferred to the more centrally-located Augusta.

The nineteenth century seemed to be a give-and-take in prosperity and progress in Portland. The 1807 Embargo Act hit the town particularly hard, but the War of 1812 brought new stimulus, and fortunes were made in privateering. Numerous private citizens made their wealth in innovative and enterprising ways, and Portland's position as an important maritime and lumber center ensured the area flourished physically, socially, and culturally.

Education in the city progressed, as well. The oldest high school in Maine (and second oldest in the nation) was established in Portland in 1823, and specialized teachers were first hired in the mid-1800s; by the 1830s and 1840s, Portland had its own writing master and singing teacher, as well as a French instructor for the city's female grammar school. When Portland's city charter was adopted in 1832, the city had a boys' high school, four monitorial schools (where honor students called 'monitors' assisted with teaching), seven primary schools, two island schools, and an infant charity. Despite this, the school system's downfalls began to become a real problem-unqualified instructors, poor punctuality, and lack of discipline prevented any real growth or progression. In the 1850s, Maine's first state superintendent, Portlander Charles H. Lord, proposed normal school training for teachers and enlightenment of the public about such issues.

When the call to arms was issued at the beginning of the American Civil War, Maine supplied the Union with more men proportionately than any other state. As the city tried to recover from the casualties suffered in the war, a small fire was ignited in a boat yard on Commercial Street on Independence Day of 1866. Quickly spreading, this fire would become one of the largest disasters the country had seen. Although only two lives were lost, $6 million in property, more than a quarter of the city's total valuation, was lost. Eighteen hundred buildings were destroyed, and nearly 10,000 Portlanders were left homeless. Within ten years, the city was almost completely rebuilt, and a new wave of growth and prosperity began. Of all the architects to make their name rebuilding Portland and in the following decades, the most influential was John Calvin Stevens.

Born in Boston in 1855, Stevens' family moved to Portland just two years later, and, with one small exception, Stevens never lived anywhere else. When he was ten, Stevens witnessed not only the massive fire that tore the city apart, but also the rebuilding efforts that unified it once more. After graduating from Portland High School in 1873, Stevens started working for the only practicing architect in the city at the time, Francis H. Fassett, and became a junior partner in 1880. Sent to Boston for eighteen months to oversee the construction of the Hotel Pemberton, Stevens was exposed to the work of influential architects of the time such as H.H. Richardson, and developed friendships with designers like William R. Emerson and Robert S. Peabody. These relationships and exposure to new styles of architecture served to influence his work, and Stevens established his own architectural practice in Portland in 1884.

With the exception of one brief partnership, Stevens operated a close-knit, family office. His younger brother (Henry Wingate Stevens) acted as his draftsman for forty-six years, son John Howard Stevens became partner in 1904, grandson John Calvin Stevens II joined the firm in 1933, and great-grandson Paul Stratton Stevens carries on the practice today, under the name SMRT.

Stevens quickly established himself as Portland's leading architect for a variety of reasons, including his distinctive treatment of new styles, and his ability to plan quality buildings within his client's budget. Although known for his characteristic residential designs in the Shingle style (which was developed in the 1880s), Stevens was also partial to Colonial Revival architecture, which dominated nationally in the first half of the twentieth century. In addition to his residential designs, Stevens was also responsible for many well-known public buildings. Although he did design elsewhere, Portland was his main interest, and consequently the location where he worked the most. From 1880 to 1940, Stevens received more than 300 commissions for designing or altering buildings of all types-religious, domestic, commercial, industrial, and public-on the Portland peninsula. He was the architect behind many important public buildings in the city, including the L.D.M. Sweat Memorial Art Museum, and the Chamber of Commerce building.

In 1889, the American Institute of Architects elected Stevens a Fellow; when he died more than half a century later, Stevens was the only person in Maine to have received that honor, and since then there have only been two in the state. Upon his death in January of 1940 after a brief bout with pneumonia, The Portland Press Herald listed a number of other honors received and offices held, including, but not limited to, member of the Boston Society of Architects, member of the New York Architectural League, president of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, member of the Maine Association of Engineers, honorary member of the Portland Yacht Club, and life member of the Ancient Landmark Lodge of Masons.

By the third quarter of the nineteenth century, more institutions and accommodations for students were being developed. An 1870 report stated that at least fifty towns in Maine had high schools, but only a handful (more heavily populated towns like Portland, Brewer, and Bangor) had two. The Free High School Act was passed by the state's legislature in 1873, allowing towns to establish free high schools and receive state funding for up to 50% of the support such schools required. Just two years later, the number of high schools in the state had risen to 165 and included institutions with programs that ranged from ten-week programs supported in part by the village or district, to areas like Portland, Lewiston, and Bangor, which had four-year programs and their own school building with teachers dedicated to instructing in that school alone.

Evening schools, which offered free instruction in a variety of subjects to anyone over the age of fifteen, became an important feature in cities and towns throughout the state during the mid-nineteenth century. Portland proved to be a pioneer in this area, establishing the state's first evening school in 1849 as an experiment through the influences of a city missionary. The experiment proved to be successful, however, and the school continued to operate (although it barred females for a time due to lack of suitable accommodations). The second Maine town to start evening schools was Biddeford, in 1880.

Believing in its importance, Portland Mayor James P. Baxter contributed his entire salary to make it possible to introduce a manual training program into the city's grammar schools in 1893. The program proved to be a success, and other towns quickly followed suit, Westbrook in 1895, Lewiston in 1897, and Bangor in 1904, and in 1901, the Maine state legislature passed an act encouraging and permitting manual training adoption in public schools. In an 1897 report, it was estimated that nearly 1,000 Portland citizens had visited this manual training school, and by 1907, instruction had expanded so that every student in grammar school (grades five through eight) received three years of uninterrupted training of the hand. It is likely the Nathan Clifford School had a space for manual training instruction in its original layout, as the building taught students in both primary and grammar school.

The early years of the twentieth century brought about an impulse for reform as the Progressive Movement and City Beautiful Movement swept the nation. These were ideals for which John Calvin Stevens championed. The movements were aimed at parks, street paving, sewers, and other forms of beautification and improvement of public health, and coincided with a period in which Portland experienced one of its greatest building booms. Millions of dollars poured into the city from large-scale projects between 1850 and 1914, these projects included the Portland Museum of Art, City Hall, the Exposition Building, and the Nathan Clifford School.

The Nathan Clifford School was built in response to over-crowding at the Oakdale School (built around 1884 on Pitt Street) which had just six rooms. This new school was named after Nathan Clifford (1803-1881), the famed Maine legislator, state attorney general, and only justice born in Maine to sit on the Supreme Court, and originally taught students from first to ninth grade. As early as 1915, however, the school was teaching kindergarten to sixth grade, and most recently kindergarten through fifth grade. The Oakdale section of Portland where the Nathan Clifford School was built was previously home to a leather factory and a scattering of domestic homes; the monumental, three-story building acted as a landmark within the neighborhood, and achieved a cohesiveness of which the city was proud. The school was built on what was then known as Durham Street, a section of Falmouth Street that ran from Brighton Avenue to St. John Street that was built in 1901.

Students and teachers first moved to the Nathan Clifford School on March 31^st, 1909 at around four o'clock in the afternoon during a half hour break from their studies. Led by Helen M. King, the principal of Oakdale School who was assuming the same role at the Nathan Clifford School, the students reportedly worked throughout the school day until that time, then gathered all their books and personal belongings, and made their way, teachers leading, to the new school to finish out the day.

Before the two hundred students and faculty arrived at the school, William Neal (school janitor) and George David (acting engineer on the project) gave Portland Mayor Adam Leighton, members of the public building committee, City Messenger Johnson, Superintendent of School Buildings Smith, members of the city's school board, Professor Rowe, and members of the city government a tour of the new space. The Portland Press Herald reported that the building would also be open for public inspection on May 10^th and 11^th, although it was "doubtful" there would be any special dedicatory exercises during those days.

At the time of the Nathan Clifford School's construction, the population of teachers in Portland was pre-dominantly female, with just twelve male teachers throughout the city, compared to 200 female teachers for the spring term, and 223 for the winter term by 1909. These teachers were responsible for teaching the 9,924 total registered pupils in the city of Portland, which had a population of 58,571 in the 1910 census. Of the total number of teachers, however, only twenty-eight had state certificates. Male teachers were paid an average of $164 per month (without board), while females were paid just $14.58 per month (also without board). The Nathan Clifford School was not the only primary and grammar school in Portland, of course; by 1915, the city had a total of nineteen grammar schools and thirty primary schools. By comparison to other Portland schools, the Nathan Clifford School was an average-sized institution in the city.

By the end of 1915 school year, the Nathan Clifford School had a total of forty enrolled kindergarten students, 290 grammar school students, and 234 primary school students, with some seventeen teachers on staff. The primary school (made up of grades one through four) studied subjects such as reading, arithmetic, language, geography, physiology and hygiene, penmanship, drawing, industrial work, and observations. Subjects studied at the grammar school level (grades five through eight) included language, reading, arithmetic, history, spelling, physiology and hygiene, music, penmanship, physical exercises, manual training (for boys), and cooking (for girls). It is likely the Nathan Clifford School had classrooms dedicated solely to these subjects at this time.

The Nathan Clifford School was deemed an instant success in design, planning, and instruction, and often served as a model for future projects. A picture of the school was featured in the 1910 national publication School Architecture: A Handy Manual for the Use of Architects and School Authorities by William George Bruce, which outlined the proper guidelines necessary to follow when constructing a new school. This manual encouraged many of the features and aspects that were utilized in the Nathan Clifford School, including selection of a competent architect, placement of the school within the heart of the district it served (especially residential locations), arrangement of the school in a basic shape (H, V, Y, L, U, T, etc.), and exterior construction of brick or stone. Desirable interior features included drinking fountains, light passing over the left shoulder of students seated at their desks, installation of telephones, and the need for playrooms, teacher's rooms, and a principal's room with adjoining reception area.

In the decades that followed, Portland experienced the same highs and lows as the rest of the country. Both World Wars and the Depression left their mark on the city, but the Depression in particular left its mark on the Nathan Clifford School. In 1940, two murals were painted by Portland artist Ralph Frizzell for the auditorium at the school, sponsored by the Works Projects Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project. A pay-for-work program established by the government in attempt to alleviate the pressures of the Depression, the WPA spent some $36 million in Maine from the group's inception in 1938 until its demise in 1942, and at its peak, the WPA employed about 14,000 Mainers. The WPA's Federal Art Project was especially active in the Portland area and employed both known and unknown artists to create public works of art like murals and frescoes. Ralph Linwood Frizzell was one such artist. Born in South Portland in 1909, Frizzell graduated from Deering High School in 1928 and then the Portland School of Fine and Applied Arts (now the Maine College of Art) in 1931. Nine years later, Frizzell was hired by the WPA to paint two large-scale murals for the Nathan Clifford School. One, titled "Fishing," depicted three men in a dory tending nets, while the other, titled "Farming," showed a family of potato farmers in northern Maine. Both murals measure about twelve square feet, were painted in oil on canvas with bright colors and realistic renderings, and are signed in red, three-inch block letters. The murals, hung on either side of the auditorium stage, were some of Portland's largest examples of WPA-era art, and have been conserved and relocated to the city's Ocean Avenue Elementary School, which was opened in 2011 to replace the Nathan Clifford School.

Over the next seventy-odd years, the Nathan Clifford School continued to act as a well-respected institution in the Oakdale neighborhood of Portland. During renovations in the 1970s, a chalkboard mural of scenes from The Adventures of Robin Hood was discovered in a classroom. Thought to be drawn during the 1930s or 1940s and by an unknown artist, the mural was protected for decades under Plexiglass after it was uncovered. In 1989, the building was designated a Portland Landmark based on its architectural merit and ties to John Calvin Stevens. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, however, the Nathan Clifford School began to be outgrown and outmoded. In February of 2011, the Nathan Clifford School officially closed its doors and students were transferred to the newly built Ocean Avenue Elementary School.

Building Description

The Nathan Clifford School is a monumental three-story, flat-roofed buff masonry building set in the middle of the Oakdale neighborhood of Portland, Maine. Laid out in Flemish bond with a granite foundation and trim, the Classical Revival structure was designed by Portland architects John Calvin Stevens and his son John Howard Stevens and built 1907-1909. The design is that of an H-shape, with symmetrical detailing comprised of a thirteen-bay central massing with five bays on either wing, which protrude slightly forward from the central block. Remaining largely unchanged both functionally and stylistically since its opening in 1909, the building underwent a renovation of an indeterminate nature in the 1970s, an electrical upgrade in 1985, chimney rebuilding in 1989, rebuilding or repointing of the exterior wyeth in the 1990s, and the installation of new classroom windows in 1994. The building is oriented northwest along Falmouth Street, set in the middle of a well-maintained neighborhood in a residential district of the city.

The Nathan Clifford School is set in the middle of a residential neighborhood called Oakdale, and is immediately recognizable among the one- and two-story domestic buildings in the area. Behind the south elevation of the building is a small playground area, an outdoor classroom, and a field surrounded by a gravel track. Homes in the neighborhood are neat and well-maintained, and the building is lined by sidewalks on three sides.

The central facade faces northwest (hereafter referred to as the north facade) and has a central block with thirteen bays. On either side a five-bay wing containing nine-over-nine-sash windows under shared lintels protrude slightly, forming an overall H-shape. A group of casement windows on this facade rise above the granite water table at the basement level, capped by a granite lintel that encircles the entire building. Between this lintel and the street level surrounding the building, different rows of brick protrude to give the look of rustication. The north facade provides access to the building with a centrally placed recessed entrance accessible by a set of granite steps. This entrance is enhanced by a double-columned portico with a relief-carved pediment featuring a globe surrounded by a decorative C-scroll. The words "Nathan Clifford School" have been inscribed on the frieze of the entablature over the door. The door itself is a wooden double door, each with a large, plain pane of glass, and recessed panels; there is a six-light transom above. Windows on either side of the central entrance are smaller and narrower than the others on this facade (with the exception of directly above on the second floor, where the pattern is repeated) and feature a four-over-four configuration with a two-light transom above. Other windows on this first floor have a nine-over-nine configuration. The second floor is a repeat of the first, with the exception of a narrow arched window directly over the portico on the first floor outlined in decorative relief-carved granite pilasters and keystone. The third floor features five windows on either wing in a nine-over-nine pane configuration, with a central grouping of six windows and groupings of an additional two at either corner of the central mass-all on the central mass are narrow four-over-four windows with a two-light transom above. A granite cornice runs above the windows of the third floor and encircles the building. The sills of these third-story windows form a belt course that runs around the structure. The roof is flat, and surrounded by a granite parapet. On this facade, a multi-curve feature abuts the otherwise straight line of the roof at the middle of either wing, with a granite circle below. A carved medallion at the roofline of the central block features carved columns on either side of a decorative carved shield with "1907" inscribed at its center. This shield is flanked by two downward-pointing dolphins.

The building's east elevation lines Deane Street and is divided into three sections. The center portion is a stepped projection containing a central alcove leading to a recessed entrance, accessible by a set of granite steps. This entrance is flanked by two pilasters capped by a decorative frieze and rounded flame finials. The granite watertable that encircles the building bisects this entrance at its middle, with three bays from the basement at street level on this side. On either side of this central section are two blank walls, unadorned except for the cornices, water table, belt courses, and crossetted panels on the third story. The first floor features two four-over-four windows capped with granite lintels and sills on either side of the central entrance, with an oculus window with torch keystone above. The second floor has smaller four-over-four windows with a two-light transom above, with one on either side of the protruding section and two in the middle. This pattern is repeated on the third floor, with decorative crossette at either end of the building. A carved cartouche flanked by pilasters is situated at the roofline in the center of the elevation's middle section.

To the west, the building lines Payson Street, and is a clone of the east elevation with the exception of the absence of basement windows on the northern third of the elevation. A small, one-story shed is attached to the building on the north end, accessible by a plain metal door. The central entrance alcove acts as a portal to the elevation's entrance, and is flanked by pilasters and capped with a simple carved pediment. The window pattern, slightly protruding middle section, and plaques at either end of the third floor are the same as the east elevation. This elevation also features the same globe and open book cartouche in the parapet as the east side of the building.

The south elevation breaks the regularity of the other three elevations in that the central massing has more of a diagonal pattern to its window placement than the horizontal alignment found on the rest of the building. A central recessed entrance is accessible through a stepped-back arched doorway with a decorative carved granite keystone and exaggerated voussoirs. Decorative brickwork between these voussoirs form cavities, giving an overall pierced appearance. Basement windows are at street level on this elevation, and small one-story storage areas have been added to the building at the ground level. The wings flanking the central block have five windows on each of the three floors, while the central block has a symmetrical, but irregular pattern of windows of varying shapes and sizes throughout in a general diagonal pattern, mimicking the rise of the interior stairwells. The windows of the first floor are capped by an arch and keystone, with an interior recessed panel with decorative brickwork forming a diamond. At the roofline of the center of either wing is the half-circle decorative break seen on the primary, north facade of the building. Two chimneys rise on either side of the middle of the main block.

The basement is laid out with a gym in the east wing, and a cafeteria in the west wing. The floor throughout this level is laid out in painted concrete (except in the cafeteria, which has sheet flooring over it), while the walls around the perimeter are white-painted brick, and interior walls are white-painted plaster. The gym in the east wing has a makeshift quality to it, support posts that disrupt open space throughout the room have been wrapped in carpet and padding to avoid injury, and a net has been attached to a utility pipe at the ceiling. The cafeteria space on the west wing also has the same support posts scattered throughout the room, but they have been left uncovered. Two large bathrooms are located in the southeast (boys) and southwest (girls) corners of the main block. The remaining area is comprised of a boiler room, space for an oil tank, and an old coal storage room that has most recently been used as a janitor's office. Railings in the stairwells to the first floor are metal and slightly curvilinear in form, their form differs throughout the rest of the school in that those are wooden and linear.

Throughout the building, there are two staircases running from the basement to the third story on either side of the central entrance to the building's north side. With the exception of the basement, the remaining stories have plaster walls and ceilings and wooden floors. The first and second floors are laid out identically, with two classrooms in each wing serving as anchors. Two more classrooms are located on the southern side of these floors, with a wide west-to-east corridor separating them from offices, including the secretary and principal's room (first floor), and teacher's room (second floor). The teacher and principal's rooms still have their original fireplaces, with a buff brick fire box and jamb reminiscent of the building's exterior masonry. The surround and mantle of these fireplaces are made of wood. The principal's room fireplace has a wooden mantel with carved pilasters on either side and a central recessed panel below the entablature. The fireplace in the teacher's room is slightly less decorative, with a simple wooden mantel. Although there are no secondary corridors, another point of access to classrooms is gained through a coat room lining each classroom on one side. These coat rooms are still outfitted with their original hooks. The classroom in the northwest corner of the second floor features a chalk mural with scenes from The Adventures of Robin Hood that was discovered during a classroom renovation in the 1970s. Thought to be from the 1940s, this mural, which spans the length of the western side of the room, is protected under Plexiglass.

The layout of the third floor differs slightly in that the entire central block is occupied by a large auditorium, with stage (to the north) and original, unattached seats (to the south). Two large panels on either side of the stage indicate the location of Ralph Frizzell's WPA-era murals, which have since been removed for conservation before being transported to their new home at Ocean Avenue Elementary School. The east and west sides of the auditorium have been adapted into a library and computer lab space. Like the first and second floors, two classrooms with adjoining coat rooms serve as anchors in both wings.

Classrooms throughout the building are equipped with chalkboards (mostly lining three walls), small storage closets, and built-in wooden cupboards of varying designs with shelves protected by glass doors, and drawers of varying size. Original water fountains remain on either end of the wide central hallways, and fire hoses are still in place in the event of an emergency. Floors on these levels are wooden, and often bear the marks of desks that were once bolted into place inside the classrooms. Stairways from the first to third floors are constructed of terrazzo and painted metal and marked with wooden railings. On the south elevation, their rise is followed by narrow windows of varying form. A wooden molding follows the line of the handrail, intersecting each window at a different point.

Throughout its 104-year use as a school, the building underwent some changes to adapt to modernity. When the structure was first built, the only bathrooms were located in the basement; since then, single bathrooms have been added to the back section of coatrooms on the southern side of the building, and to the principal's office and teacher's room. With the exception of classrooms, some of the building's rooms were most recently used for slightly different purposes than originally intended. The reception room on the first floor, for instance, was converted to a secretary's office, and space on the west and east sides of the third-floor auditorium were most recently used as a library and computer lab. The space recently used for Speech on the second floor was originally outfitted as the school's library. No kitchen was ever housed in the building, as students originally went home for an extended lunch break, in subsequent years, a central off-site kitchen that provided meals for other Portland schools sent in pre-packed meals.