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The three-story brick structure was reduced to rubble on Monday.
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A bird's eye view of the demolition. See more of Mantello's photos here

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Adams' Commercial Street School Demolished

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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ADAMS, Mass. — More than 100 years of history came crashing down on Monday morning as the former Commercial Street School was demolished. 

The building was owned by Commercial Street School LLC, which purchased the nearly one-acre lot at 87 Commercial from Aladco in 2014 for $125,000. The manager of the LLC is David Desmarais, owner of Aladco. The property was being used for parking for the laundry company across the street and warehousing.

The three-story building hadn't been used as a school in nearly 40 years. The structure was built between 1882-3 along with two other grammar schools accommodate the town's burgeoning population.

"It's always regrettable when a historic structure is demolished especially a school that may have fond memories for many former students and faculty," said Eugene Michalenko, a member of both Historical Commission and Historical Society. "Considering that new uses were found for the other former neighborhood schools, losing one to a wrecking ball leaves a bitter twitch in our community's memory." 
 
Michalenko said the neighborhood around the school had grown up very quickly the year before its construction because of the opening of the Jacquard Mill, built by Renfrew Manufacturing Co. on Harmony Street. The now vacant mill had later been home to Dewey & Almy, W.R. Grace and MacDermid Corp.
 
The Commercial Street School was similar in structure, he said, to Renfrew School "but it was more graceful in architecture."
 
There were eight rooms serving children up to Grade 6 and it was designed for 350 students although in 1924, Michalenko said, only 229 were enrolled. When the new high school opened in 1969, Commercial and two other schools became kindergarten through Grade 3 and Renfrew was closed. When Proposition 2 1/2 was enacted in 1981 and severe budget cuts resulted, those three schools were closed. 
 
While the school is now gone, its bell is on display at Hoosac Valley Elementary School. 
 
Adams Excavating Co. made short work of the building on Monday and by afternoon it was mostly leveled. The demolition permits were filed in early April.

Aladco has no official plans on file for the soon to be open area and nothing has yet gone before the Planning Board.

This is the second large structure to be removed from the highly trafficked Commercial Street. A vacant building at 50 Commercial St., built in 1921 as an automotive garage, was demolished by the town last year because of its deteriorating condition. 

 

 


Tags: demolition,   historic buildings,   schools,   

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Adams Sees No Races So Far

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — With less than a week left before nomination papers are due, there are currently no contested seats.
 
Only selectman incumbent John Duval has returned papers. Selectman Howard Rosenberg has decided not to seek re-election. 
 
Rosenberg, who was elected in 2021, said he has chosen not to run again to make room for younger candidates.
 
"I feel strongly, we need younger people running for public office,  as the future of our town lies within the younger  generation. The world is so fundamentally different today and rapidly changing to become even more so. I believe we need people who are less interested in trying to bring back the past, then in paving the way for a promising future. The younger generation can know that they can stay here and have a voice without having to leave for opportunities elsewhere," he said.
 
The only person to return papers so far is former member the board Donald Sommer. Sommer served as a selectman from 2007 to 2010 and before that was a member of the School Committee and the Redevelopment Authority. He ran unsuccessfully for selectman in 2019 and again in 2021 but dropped out of before the election.
 
Incumbent Moderator Myra Wilk and Town Clerk Haley Meczywor have returned papers for their respective positions.
 
Assessor Paula Wheeler has returned papers and incumbents James Loughman and Eugene Michalenko have returned papers for library trustees.
 
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