Then & Now: Mason Street School, Worcester

For generations, young students in the neighborhood between Chandler and Pleasant streets made their way to the Mason Street School.

The small brick building was among the many neighborhood schools that dotted Worcester over the years. Many of them are long gone, some replaced by larger schools whose reach expanded in step with improved bus transportation.

Two neighborhood schools, the Adams Square School and the Ledge Street School, were located in the path of Interstate 290.

The Mason Street School opened about 1860 and served a range of grades and programs before closing for good on Jan. 23, 1953. Students were shifted to schools on Winslow and Sever streets.

Thousands of students attended the school over its 90 years. Interestingly, the Worcester Telegram's coverage of school board meetings occasionally referenced the hiring of a new janitor at Mason Street School. Readers learned, for example, that on March 6, 1936, Thomas P. McGinn was promoted from substitute janitor to main janitor at the school.

After school officials decided to close the school, with repair costs adding up, the property was turned over to the City Council. There was some discussion of selling the building as it stood, but officials decided to tear it down, earmarking $900 for the job.

Talk of building a playground on the empty parcel gained little support, and the city opted to sell the land.

At an auction on March 1, 1954, John J. Ostrow outbid a half-dozen others for the land. The winning offer was $6,000.

Fifteen years earlier, Ostrow founded Ostrow Electric, aided by his father, Israel Ostrow. They initially worked out of the family's three-decker at 1258 Main St. By 1954, when Ostrow bid on the Mason Street School, the company was located at 117 Mechanic St., in downtown Worcester.

John Ostrow wanted the land for a new warehouse and office space.

Fourteen months after John J. Ostrow's winning bid for the old school, ground was broken on the company's new home. The building was designed by Doak Martin, a noted architect in Worcester. He was reponsible for the old Fairlawn Hospital and Leicester High School.

Ostrow Electric remains in business, now in its fourth generation of Ostrows, with seven family members on a companywide staff of 175.

The business has expanded far beyond Worcester, but its base remains at the site of the old school, 9 Mason St. The company's footprint has expanded over the years, eventually reaching Bellevue Street, behind the school parcel.

Thank you to Ostrow Electric for its assistance with this story.

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This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Then & Now: Mason Street School, Worcester