The Old Academy is an unusual Greek Revival temple front structure built in 1837 to replace the original Framingham Academy erected in 1792 as part of Benjamin Franklin’s “academy movement.” Emblematic of Framingham’s role as a national leader in ground-breaking education and pedagogy, it stands today as an exhibition and research space, as well as an annual destination for over 800 Framingham 3rd graders.
The Old Academy was constructed by Dexter and Adam Hemenway 1837, the second building to serve the school located on this site. It was used by the Framingham School department from 1851 to 1915, when classes moved next door to the Jonathan Maynard building. One year later, the Framingham Historical Society first leased the building from the town and has operated out of the Old Academy ever since. The building was documented in measured drawings and photographs by the Historical American Buildings Survey (HABS) during one of its first surveys in 1934.
The Old Academy is an unusual Greek Revival temple front building with both walls and freestanding columns built of random coursed rubble stone and gable ends of flush boarding. Typical of many traditional school buildings, there are doors on either end of the portico, which could be used to segregate boys and girls or class groups. As recorded in the HABS drawings, the interior consisted of a single large classroom space on the first and second floors. On both the exterior and interior, the Academy retains most of its historic integrity, including the blackboards and light fixtures.