There is an ongoing effort to save the town’s reknowned green cupola that once graced the original Auburn High School. The old high school was opened in 1935 when the town realized it could better serve its students as well as save some money by educating Auburn high schoolers in their home town, rather than busing them to Worcester.

The high school building funds were approved at a special town meeting on August 29, 1933 with some of the funding coming from the Public Works Administration.

On March 5, 1935, plans drawn by architect Lucius W. Briggs were accepted and within a month work had started on Auburn’s first high school. 

Briggs constructed other well-known buildings in the region, including the clubhouse at the Worcester Country Club, Worcester Memorial Auditorium and Leicester Town Hall.  On December 16, 1935, the first classes were held, with the formal dedication of the high school on January 16, 1936.

The Green Dome stood over the main entrance and quickly became an icon of both the school and of Auburn. The magazine published by students of Auburn High School was even named “The Green Dome.”

The old Auburn High School was demolished 72 years after it was built to accommodate a growing student population.

The Green Dome was spared from demolition, according to Jackie Walsh, Auburn High Class of 1966.  

The dome had fallen into disrepair, she wrote in an email, passing into the charge of several town offices until it ended up in the town manager’s care.

The goal is to raise funds to structurally stabilize and possibly remove lead from the cupola, then repaint and keep the dome as a tribute to all Auburn students and teachers. 

For more information, visit greendomepreservation.org/.