Plymouth North High School - History

History

Plymouth North High School was constructed in its present location of 41 Obery Street in 1963. The school was originally known as Plymouth-Carver High School, and it served as the sole high school for the Plymouth-Carver school district from 1963–1988. This "new" school replaced the older Plymouth High School, now used as Nathaniel Morton Elementary School at 6 Lincoln Street (across the street from Plymouth Town Hall) in Plymouth Center. In the early 1980s, and due to increasing town population, the school installed used, 10 year old portable classrooms, known by students and faculty as "The Portables". These were affixed to the main school building to accommodate the increased student population and were meant to be used as a temporary solution, however they remained there until a new school was built in 2012.

In 1988, the Plymouth-Carver school district was dissolved into two separate school districts (Carver and Plymouth school districts) and Plymouth Carver High School was renamed "Plymouth North High School". Later that year, the Town of Plymouth opened another new school (Plymouth South High School) to meet the needs of its ever increasing student population.

In the fall of 2012, a new and improved Plymouth North High School was opened on the same lot location of 41 Obery Street. It was constructed behind the then existing Plymouth North High School, on its baseball and football fields. Once the construction of the "new" Plymouth North High School was finished, the obsolete building was demolished. The original building was in need of a lot of renovations due to deterioration of the facility and concerns about overcrowding.

• the brick veneer had severely deteriorated over time
• steel-frame windows (single pane) and doors were experiencing rusting and leakage
• the roof was in need of replacement
• the existing building and site are not ADA compliant
• the boilers are outdated and inefficient
• the electrical distribution system was failing in many places as a result of a deteriorating conduit shield
• the lighting and plumbing systems were outdated
• the HVAC system only provided adequate heating and cooling to the modular classrooms
• the fire alarm system dated from the 1960s and did not comply with ADA, NFPA, and Massachusetts State Building Code requirements
• there were asbestos-containing materials throughout the building
• there was severe overcrowding due to inadequate space in the hallways, music room, gymnasium, cafeteria, and library