It’s been nearly 100 years since the Old Lynn High School was alive with the laughter of children.
Girls Inc. of Lynn will reopen the doors of 50 High St. to local girls next spring when renovations of the 178-year-old building are complete.
Founded in 1942, Girls Inc. of Lynn is the local affiliate of the national nonprofit organization, Girls Inc., which provides programs to low-income girls and their families. Since then, the organization has operated within the walls of a former theater on Broad Street.
Over the years, the group has outgrown the confines of the historic playhouse and set their sights on the vacant school building in 2000, according to Patricia Driscoll, executive director of Girls Inc. of Lynn.
“At 88 Broad St. you just have to walk in to see why we need a new space,” she said. “There’s a beautiful stage inside which we use as a place to store all our stuff. A huge balcony hangs down into the main space and limits physical activity and games because of the lowered ceiling.”
The theater building was designed by Josephine Wright Chapman, a well-known architect who was only one of a handful of women practicing in the United States at the turn of the century.
The significance of the architect to Girls Inc. gave the organization enough reason to want to renovate their existing space. However, after looking at the cost of demolition of the balcony and installing handicap access and other modern aspects to bring the facility up to code, it just wasn’t worth it, Driscoll said. Plus, the facility is landlocked, leaving limited opportunities for outdoor space.
Girls Inc. purchased the building on 0.68 acres at 50 High St. in 2004 for $700,000. It had sat vacant for 15 years at a busy intersection on the cusp of downtown and the Highlands neighborhood – one of the poorest sections of the city. Fifty High St. was listed on the Register of Historic Places in 2002.
“The new Girls Inc. building will be a beacon of hope for the neighborhood and will help the completion of revitalization in the area between downtown and the Highlands,” said the owner’s representative Matthew Donnelly, president of 3D Group.
The existing 4-story structure will double in size with the completion of a 14,000-square-foot addition. When complete, the new facility will house 14,650 square feet of office and programs/services space, while the new, 1.5-story steel and wood frame addition will include a gymnasium, conference rooms and teen programming wing.
Work on the original building is now 75 percent complete, according to Donnelly. Since a June 2007 groundbreaking, the exterior work has been completed and is being painted.n
