East Nurses' Home

Constructed amid a flurry of development between 1905 and 1907, the East Nurses' Home emerged as the institution broadened its footprint, shifting from accommodating staff within patient dormitories to providing dedicated residences for staff. Ultimately, the Fernald Center boasted four distinct nurses' homes: North, West, East, and South. In its later years, the East Nurses' Home briefly accommodated higher-functioning residents of Fernald before transitioning to office space for the Massachusetts Department of Education, until its eventual closure.

Architectural Description

All four nurses' residences were built in a similar fashion, though East and West Nurses, being built in the same year, are identical. They are three-by-seven-bay rectangular-plan structures, made of red brick and accentuated with varying patterns. Designed by Preston, they exhibit features typically found in other early buildings at Fernald. They rise two stories from fieldstone foundations to slate hip roofs with central and facade chimneys. Their nearly symmetrical facades are centered on transomed entries recessed within large round-arched openings whose spandrels are picked out with burnt headers surmounted by triple-arched windows. Windows with 8/8 sash display sandstone sills and splayed brick lintels. A burnt header beltcourse forms the sill for the second-story windows.

The interior of East Nurses has been spared extensive renovation which occurred at other buildings during the 1980s, leaving much of the original Queene Anne details intact. Exposed beams in vaulted ceilings, extensive molding and trim work and glass interior partitions create a unique atmosphere worthy of restoration.