6A Class at Franklin School. The original school was built in 1889 and named after Benjamin Franklin. The pictured building replaced the old school in 1910 with additions in 1914. The architects were Heath & Twichell. It was demolished in 1997. (WSHS)

Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930; Franklin School (Tacoma); School children--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Portable classrooms were in use at Franklin School. Seventeen students are working at their desks while the teacher and six more children are in a circle at the front of the room. One of the boys near the center of the photogrpah is wearing a cub scout uniform. An addition was built at Franklin School in 1953.

Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Franklin School (Tacoma); Baby boom generation--Tacoma; School overcrowding--Tacoma;

ca. 1895. Teacher, Miss Rice, and students on the steps of "old" Franklin School circa 1895. The original Franklin (Elementary) School was built in 1889 and named after the famous American inventor and statesman, Benjamin Franklin. The school started out with two teachers but rapidly growing enrollment added more faculty and necessitated the construction of a two-story addition in 1896. A new building replaced the old one in 1910 to handle overcrowding and the old building was sold for $250. Further additions were made in 1914 and 1953 but the school finally was demolished in September of 1997. A new Franklin School has been located at 1402 South Lawrence since 1998. (Olsen, For the Record, p. 59-article)

Franklin School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1890-1900; School children--Tacoma--1890-1900; Teachers--Tacoma--1890-1900;

Students at Franklin School. This is possibly one of the 8th grade classes at Franklin School, located at 3202 South 12th St. Many of the girls pictured above in May of 1924 had fashionably bobbed hair and low-waisted dresses. The boys wore suit coats and either knickers or long dress pants. G46.1-080

Franklin School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930; School children--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Mrs. Cletus E. Stevens and six of her students in class 5-B at Franklin School salute the American flag on the first day on school in September 1940. The students are (l to r): Robert Nordstrom, Irvin Ingels, Lois Barry, Barbara Koval, Charlotte Walker, and Tom Brokaw. Just two weeks after this picture was taken Tacoma students were given their first vacation day of the year so they could attend Tacoma Day at the Puyallup Fair. (T. Times 09-04-1940 p.2)

Public schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Franklin School (Tacoma); Flags--United States; Nordstrom, Robert; Ingels, Irvin; Barry, Lois; Koval, Barbara; Walker, Charlotte; Brokaw, Tom; Stevens, Cletus E.--Family; Teachers--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Over 300 students at Franklin Elementary School, 3202 South 12th Street, took part in the musical pageant "The Spirit of America Speaks" on Friday evening November 15, 1940. Six of the students taking part in the pageant were: Kath Kindregan representing the pilgrims; Dorothy Beck, the Norwegians; Diane Metzker, the Dutch; Patricia Cowling, the Spirit of America; Gerald Wolf, the Spaniards and Donna Jean Moore, the Native Americans. The ambitious project consisted of three parts and looked at the history of the United States and the institutions and diverse cultures that shaped it. (T.Times 11/15/1940 p.9)

School children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Franklin School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Pageants; Kindregan, Kath; Beck, Dorothy; Metzker, Diane; Cowling, Patricia; Wolf, Gerald; Moore, Donna Jean;

On March 24, 1952 dignitaries celebrated the ground breaking for the new addition to be built at Franklin Elementary School. From left to right: Mr. Everett Jensen, President of the Tacoma School Board, Mr. M. L. Larson, Chairman of the Tacoma Public School Building Committee, Dr. A. H. Blankenship, Superintendent of Tacoma Schools, Mrs. George Whitver, Vice President of Franklin P.T.A, Mr. L. P. Rosch, Principal of Franklin School, Mr. Nelson J. Morrison, Architect of Franklin School and Mr. C. W. Campbell, Anderson Construction co. A big scoop stands behind them to begin the larger excavation for the addition that would open in 1953.

Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Franklin School (Tacoma); School overcrowding--Tacoma; Ground breaking ceremonies--Tacoma--1950-1960; Excavation--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Franklin School 6A Class, circa 1933. The original school was built in 1889 and named after Benjamin Franklin. The pictured building replaced the old school in 1910 with additions in 1914. The architects were Heath & Twichell. It was demolished in 1997. (filed with Argentum)

Public schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Franklin School (Tacoma); Students--Tacoma--1930-1940;

In February of 1952 Franklin School at 3202 South 12th Street was full to over flowing as the post war "baby boom" generation filled Tacoma's schools. Tacoma found a temporary solution to its student space problem by building temporary classrooms, the first of which were built at Franklin in the summer of 1949. In an appeal to voters in 1952 to vote "Yes" on school propositions, it was announced that 50 portables were in operation in Tacoma. A new permanent addition was completed at Franklin School in 1953; by then it had an enrollment of some 800 children. A completely new Franklin School opened in 1998. (For the Record, Winnifred L. Olsen; TNT, 2/21/1952, p.A-3)

Public schools--Tacoma; Franklin School (Tacoma); Baby boom generation--Tacoma; School overcrowding--Tacoma;