The Massachusetts Normal Art School, a precursor to MassArt, operated here (1873–1886), offering free tuition to train teachers, with 80% of students being women.
The Massachusetts Normal Art School, the predecessor of the Massachusetts College of Art, operated on this site from 1873 until 1886 when it moved to its present location at 621 Huntington Avenue. Because the school was a response to the Drawing Act of 1870 requiring free drawing classes for municipalities with a population of 10,000 or more, students training to be teachers had free tuition. In the first thirty years, eighty percent of the students were women.
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The Boston Women’s Heritage Trail celebrates the past accomplishments of remarkable women in Boston, claiming their rightful place in our City’s history. Through education, reflection, and an interactive city-wide monument, we activate the powerful female side of Boston’s history.
