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PA . <br />Statement of Significance <br />The Murphey School site represents a rare example of an intact early 20'h Century (1923, <br />schoolhouse which includes not only a separate Teacherage, where the working staff <br />lived, but an adjoining Auditorium constructed some 12 years later as part of Works <br />Progress Administration (WPA). Some of the architectural features that are distinctive <br />and should be taken particular care to preserve are the Spanish Revival imitation (tin) <br />terra cotta roofing, the Doric portico of the Auditorium, and the arched windows of the <br />Auditorium. Also, regarding the interior of the Auditorium, a good deal of attention has <br />been paid to retaining the 1935 character of the space, including the coffered ceilings, the <br />woods floors, and plaster walls. The stage and wings are virtually identical to the original <br />structure, as are the three entrance doors and unusual transoms above. Within the school <br />itself, the original tin ceilings have been rediscovered and exposed after a good deal of <br />restoration, and the interior transoms that helped with air flow ( before air conditioning) <br />have been restored along with the original hallway. In addition, although the Teacherage <br />is not an unusual style bungalow house, as a part of the overall site it is so rare to be <br />preserved that care should be taken to retain it's character as well. I have taken great care <br />to restore these features, especially as they are seen in a frontal view, and want to make <br />sure they are retained going forward. I would also like to retain the water tower, although <br />it is more of a conversation piece than historically significant. <br />The shrubbery added in front to comply with the Special Use standards should be kept <br />low — never more than 3 -4 feet in height, to allow a strong view of the facility, and I have <br />chosen a particular compact variety of juniper that will be easy to maintain and should <br />not grow more than 4 feet if properly maintained. <br />Although I have taken care to preserve the internal structure of these buildings as much <br />as possible, I can imagine a variety of uses over time. The open floor plan will allow for <br />many temporary uses and I hope it will always be used to benefit the Orange — Durham <br />Community that it sits squarely in the middle of <br />I can imagine changes to the site, but only towards the back of the more than 7 acres that <br />it occupies. When I purchased the property there was a small mobile home on the back <br />that was added in the 1980's. This house is an eyesore and in bad disrepair and I would <br />like to remove it from the property to be replaced at some point with a small house of <br />similar square feet but of the 20's or 30's era. There is already power, water, and sewer <br />and this could be another small office as the mobile home was intended to be. It would <br />not be a contributing structure to the historic nature of the site but would be more <br />functional and attractive than the mobile home. Other than that, the septic system covers <br />a large portion of the property and the balance is a natural wooded buffer that should be <br />maintained, so I do not expect there would be additional building on the site. <br />23 <br />