Fairlawn (Worcester, Massachusetts) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Fairlawn
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Fairlawn
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 189 May St., Worcester, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1893 |
| Architectural style | Eclectic Victorian |
| MPS | Worcester MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000594 |
| Added to NRHP | March 05, 1980 |
Fairlawn is a really old and beautiful house in Worcester, Massachusetts. It's located at 189 May Street. Today, this historic mansion is part of the main building for the Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital. A famous builder named James Norcross used to own Fairlawn. His company, Norcross Brothers, built many important buildings across the country. They even worked with well-known architects like H. H. Richardson and McKim, Mead & White. The Norcross brothers also built many famous places right in Worcester. They even had a factory there that made parts for buildings!
The Story of Fairlawn
Who Was James Norcross?
James Norcross moved to Worcester in 1868. He started buying land along May Street in 1890. Eventually, he owned about 66 acres (27 hectares) of land. In 1893, he built the amazing Fairlawn house on this property.
Building a Unique Home
Fairlawn is a large house made of brown sandstone. It's about 2.5 stories tall. The house measures about 70 feet (21 meters) wide and 125 feet (38 meters) long. Its style is quite unique, meaning it doesn't fit perfectly into one common architectural style. However, it does have many design features that were popular at the time.
The front of the house has a cool round section that goes up three full stories. This round part has a small dome, called a cupola, on top. A porch with thin round columns wraps around the bottom of this section. The back of the house has a similar round section, but it doesn't have a cupola. Each of the four corners of the building also has a rounded part that goes up three floors, topped with a sloped roof.
From Home to Hospital
James Norcross lived in Fairlawn until he passed away in 1903. His family continued to live there until 1922. That's when the Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital bought the property.
The hospital later added new sections to the house on each side. One addition was built around 1951, and another in 1970. These new parts are made of brick. They connect to the original mansion with narrow hallways. These additions were designed so they don't take away from the beautiful style of the main house. There's also an old stable behind the house that James Norcross probably built too.
Fairlawn is considered a very important historical building. It was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
