Invisible Addition (1924)

The Invisible Addition & the Mid-Century Graft (1924)

A seamless 1924 expansion

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In 1924, four new classrooms were added to the rear — and the masons executed the work so masterfully that the addition is essentially invisibleThe only way to find the seam is to examine the mortar joints on the Wyman Street side: the 1924 work uses a slightly lighter Portland cement, contrasting subtly with the 1892 lime mortar. To virtually every eye — including trained architects — the building appears to be a single unified construction from 1892.

Forty years later, in 1964, a far less subtle transformation occurred. A 20,500-square-foot cinderblock and glass wing — thoroughly mid-century modern — was grafted directly onto the 1892 Romanesque brick. Because Victorian schoolhouse ceilings were far higher than modern standards, the floor levels of the two wings could not align. The result was the internal ramp system — a quirky architectural bridge between the 19th and 20th centuries that became one of the most enduring physical memories for generations of Woburn students.

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The 2014 DiNisco Design audit confirmed the lasting consequence of this contrast: while the heavy masonry 1892 north wing remained structurally "over-built," the 1964 cinderblock sections had suffered significantly from groundwater infiltration — the same problems the lead-poured granite foundation of 1891 had been specifically engineered to resist. The original engineering outlasted the modern addition by a wide margin.

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Interior Design

Inside, the building reflected Victorian educational planning:

• high ceilings for airflow and light

• long corridors with classroom wings

• large vertical windows for daylight learning

• separation of circulation for organization and safety