Marian Central High School

Framingham, MA, 1954-56, Whelan & Westman

Marian High School’s monolithic facade towers over the small yard created by the building’s setbacks. The front features a series of vertically banded windows punched into the buff brick structure that forms a U shape around a rear courtyard. In order to get light into the garden level classrooms, glass bricks puncture the concrete foundation which wraps the base.  In many ways, the building is a typical catholic school building of the era. The firm, Whelan & Westman, designed many of the Archdiocese of Boston’s churches, schools and convents.

The school closed in 2018 due to declining enrollment in the school and for almost 3 years the building sat vacant. Originally, it was sold to Invictus Forever, “a nonprofit organization that seeks to meet the vocational, recreational, social, educational, and therapeutic needs of children and adults with disabilities.” and renderings showed a new low-rise structure in front of the building as well as a complete recladding of the building. However, in 2023, the city of Framingham purchased the site from Invictus Forever with plans to create a new community center downtown and add a pool to the existing structure.

Sources:

Mass. Cultural Resource Information System listing for Marian Central High School