The Ash Street School

In the heart of the city, like the center mark of an archery target, sits a building in the shape of a Greek cross. Now housing the digital marketing firm, SilverTech Inc., the old Ash Street Grammar School stands as one of Manchester's more unique and innovative pieces of architecture.

Completed in 1874, the Ash Street School was designed by George Stevens, a civil engineer contracted by the Amoskeag Corporation, who was paid $650 for the school's design. As mentioned above, the building was built in the shape of a Greek cross (much like the Charing Cross that is emblazoned on hospitals and ambulances) and sits on its lot with each stubby wing facing a respective cardinal direction. The building's shape gave each of the school's eight classrooms the luxury of windows on three sides, allowing for more natural light and better ventilation (major building design concerns of the day). The design won a gold medal at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876.

Group portrait thirty four students and a teacher of the Ash Street Grammar School. (Late 1800s)

Interior view of the Ash Street School showing the third floor auditorium. (1900)

The Ash Street School remained a school until the late 20th century when it was eventually repurposed for school administration officials. It's also worth noting that the school was nearly demolished in place of a downtown medical center in the early 70s. Traveling down the canyon of old tenement houses and small shops on Maple street, the city can seem claustrophobic, but when you stop at the light at Bridge and Maple, the area opens up marking the entrance of the North End, seemingly a clear division of neighborhoods. Much of that can be attributed to the Ash Street School looming over the corner on its underutilized lot space. Imagine what some International style, concrete hulk might look like sitting on that corner, its walls thrusting out in the sidewalk. It would give the area quite a different feel.

In 2007, the digital marketing firm Silver Tech Inc. bought the building from the city and began renovations. Silver Tech's public relations manager,  Mark Frechette, gave me a brief tour of the building and I was able to see many of the changes first hand. With the exception of a few new walls, modernizations and bringing the building back up to code, Silver Tech has buffed the wrinkles out the old school house, honoring it historical resonance by leaving the original wood floors, old intercom system and even the coat hooks students used decades ago. There's a certain new paint smell and sheen to the place that is wonderful. An employee from the highway department even comes to wind the clock in the clock tower twice a week.

The main stairwell of the Ash Street School.

The school's auditorium now houses Silver Tech's creative department.

There's also a certain comfort in the fact that the school house still cultivates creativity and innovation even in its new ownership. Five days a week, the employees of Silver Tech get up and go to school to brain storm new ideas and images for clients around the nation.

More interior and exterior shots after the jump.

Manchester's stillborn college campus

In the northwest corner of Manchester lies a large plot of undeveloped land, the last barren parcel in the city that isn't a swamp or park. The Hackethill area is a mix of woodlands and protected wetlands that is a beautiful piece of space, and meandering through it are long abandoned roads, parking lots and sewer systems of a stillborn project that has spanned almost 40 years now.

In the 1960s, the University of New Hampshire opened a new branch of the University called Merrimack Valley College off of Hackethill Road. A large building, called French Hall, was constructed with all the necessary classrooms and administration offices. The college had minor success and a few years later the 830 acres of land behind French Hall were purchased with the idea of building a true campus in Manchester.

A map of the future development.

The development as it currently looks via Google Maps.

The development was slow moving, as things with universities tend to be, and eventually in the early 80s, a road was paved leading into the property. Parking lots were built, sewer lines laid and electricity was even run through out the entire development, powering only the street lamps that pepper the narrow roads and parking areas. In 1986, UNH Manchester opened a branch in the millyard and there were classes both on the "hill" and the "mill," respectively. In 1998, the university opted to consolidate their two Manchester campuses and sold back the land and French Hall to the city. French Hall has since been sold to the tech company, JPSA Laser. Since the late 90s, the campus that never was has sat deteriorating against the encroaching forest and elements.

The largest of the abandoned parking lots.

One of the many broken street lamps that fleck the parking lots and roads.

Weeds, grass and full grown trees sprout from every crevice in the pavement. Mold and moss cover sidewalks that never saw the hurried footfalls of students running to their next class. Fire hydrants sit rusting and storm drains choking with leaves. The sights are a little eerie, almost post-apocalyptic, but the land itself is beautiful. It's a reminder that in only a few short decades the Earth can easily take back what we have built. I couldn't imagine what the place might look like 100 years from now if no one decided to develop it. The city could make it a free form park and archeologists could study the deterioration of modern infrastructures and see how our civilization might survive a millennium.

A barely visible piece of sidewalk.

Sadly, the land was too valuable for such an endeavor and the city sold it to Danais Realty earlier this year for $2.8 million, which plans to develop it as the Northwest Business Park at Hackett Hill. It should be noted that there is a small group of people protesting the development, as several areas of the land are protected nature preserves. You can read more about their effort here.

More photos after the jump.