ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION continued

Modernistic styles were built from 1920 to 1940. Smooth surfaces, curved corners, flat roof with a small ledge or coping at the roofline are identifying features of this style. Westminster High has many of these architectural elements.

The front entrance to the building is asymmetrical, and stepped back in three sections. Small vertical windows flank the smooth plain entrance doors, characteristic of the Art Moderne design. The walls of the front façade project vertically above the roofline. The rest of the roofline has a small coping, except for the gymnasium, which has a low-pitched gable. The curved wall to the left of the entrance is also Art Modern detail.

The ribbon windows run horizontally along the first and second floor emphasizing the desire to have continuous light in all the rooms, another Art Moderne feature. The dark brown of the windows contrasts with the blond brick walls, giving further emphasis to the Art Moderne horizontal effect. The windows on the second and third parts of the building have a decorative element of panels of dark brown tiles. The window moulding and frames of the windows are constructed of wood, painted dark brown to match the tiles. The windowsills are blond brick.

The High School is a four-part building with the front facing Lowell Street and the rest of the parts extending back from the street for almost two thirds of the block it is located on. The front section of the building houses the gym and some classrooms. The second part is classrooms and offices. The third part has some classrooms and a greenhouse and the last part is a shop or garage.