View of Lowell Elementary School. The roots of Lowell School run deep as it is the Tacoma School District's oldest school. Established in 1869, and originally known as the First Ward School, it served families living west of Division Avenue in Old Tacoma. After moving to several locations, it was renamed Lowell after the American poet James Russell Lowell in 1890. A new Lowell School was built in 1950 on North 13th & Yakima Sts. as the nearly sixty year old Lowell, located a block away, was condemned following the 1949 earthquake. Students were moved into the new classrooms in November, 1950, although total construction was not completed until February, 1951. Photograph ordered by Bonnell Construction. (Olsen: For the Record, p. 43)
Lowell Elementary School (Tacoma)--Buildings; Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Idlewild Elementary School was located in Lakewood at 10806 Idlewild Rd. S.W. , a part of the Clover Park School District. James E. Rediske was listed as principal in the 1958 Tacoma Suburban Directory. The school's buildings were clustered together; they all seemed to be of modern style and one-story in nature. The largest building with a steep roof shown in this March 4, 1958, photograph appeared to be the auditorium. Idlewild followed the new trend in wood framing and glue-lam beams for school construction. 70,000 feet of fir plywood was used for roof decking. Donald Burr was the architect for the project; Strom Construction was the contractor. Photograph ordered by Penman Neil, Inc. (TNT 2-9-58, A-19)
Idlewild Elementary School (Lakewood); Public schools--Lakewood;
Sherman School 6A class. Children in front of school with teacher, possibly Professor Brown, in June of 1927. Sherman was built at this location in 1891 and was named in honor of Civil War Union Army general William Tecumseh Sherman. It was razed in 1953. (WSHS)
Sherman Elementary (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930; School children--Tacoma--1920-1930; Group portraits; Education--Tacoma;
Lincoln School 6A class. Lincoln School was built in 1887 from a design by C.N. Daniels. The school was originally named West School, but underwent a name change to Lincoln in 1889. It was demolished in 1938. (WSHS)
Students--Tacoma--1920-1930; Lincoln Elementary School (Tacoma);
6th Grade students, Stanley School, Mr. Thune. The graduating 6th grade class posed in front of the school in May of 1949. Several of the boys are wearing safety patrol badges and shoulder straps. Elmer Thune was the school's Principal.
Stanley Elementary School (Tacoma); School children--Tacoma--1940-1950; Education--Tacoma; Public schools--Tacoma--1940-1950; Group portraits;
Graduating Class at Lincoln School. The class consists of 19, 13 boys and 6 girls. Lincoln was closed in 1938 and most of the students were transferred to McCarver. (WSHS)
Students--Tacoma--1920-1930; Lincoln Elementary School (Tacoma);
The 12-room Lowell Elementary School at 810 North 13th Street, built to replace the original Lowell School, was completed in February 1951. This view of the exterior of the school shows the concrete steps up to the entrance of the two-story school. Lowell School can trace its history back to the first school in Tacoma, a cabin built at North 28th and Starr streets. The school shown replaced the Lowell school built in 1892; that building had to be torn down after being damaged by the great 1949 earthquake. (Ordered by Washington Stove Works, Everett, Washington.)
Lowell Elementary School (Tacoma)--Buildings; Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960;
The exterior of Jennie Reed Elementary School which opened in 1951. The school was named for Dr. Jennie M. Reed who was noted throughout the Northwest for the testing program she developed in the 1920's and 1930's as director of the District department of educational research and psychological clinic. The school had 300 students in 1952. Ordered by Washington Stove Works, Everett, Washington. (For the Record, Winnifred L. Olsen)
Jennie Reed Elementary School (Tacoma)--Buildings; Jennie Reed Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Stove Works (Everett);
The exterior of A.V. Fawcett Elementary School that opened in 1950. The eight-room school was named for Angelo Vance Fawcett. He was elected Mayor of Tacoma five times and served longer than any other mayor. He was also a state senator and a Pierce County Commissioner. Ordered by Washington Stove Works, Everett, Washington. (For the Record, Winnifred L. Olsen)
Fawcett Elementary School (Tacoma)--Buildings; Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Stove Works (Everett);
Jefferson School originally opened in a portable at North 12th and Stevens Streets. In 1908 the school was built at 4302 North 13th. Improvements were made in 1913, 1919, 1950, 1957 and 1971. The school was named for Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States. Ordered by Washington Stove Works, Everett, Washington. (For the Record, Winnifred L. Olsen) TPL-7185
Jefferson Elementary School (Tacoma)--Buildings; Jefferson Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Stove Works (Everett);
Jefferson Elementary School, detail view of end wall. Brick building with double doors and a small curved roof above. Ordered by Washington Stove Works.
Jefferson Elementary School (Tacoma)--Buildings; Jefferson Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Stove Works (Everett);
A new electric stove, an "Alaska Range", has been installed in the kitchen at Reed School. Ordered by Washington Stove Works, Everett, Washington.
Jennie Reed Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Stove Works (Everett); Kitchens--Tacoma--1950-1960; Stoves--Tacoma;
A new electric stove, an "Alaska Range", has been installed in the kitchen at Jefferson School. During a one week period in December of 1951, new stoves were also installed at several other elementary schools including Lowell, Park and Reed. Ordered by Washington Stove Works, Everett, Washington. TPL-7186
Jefferson Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Stove Works (Everett); Kitchens--Tacoma--1950-1960; Stoves--Tacoma;
Lincoln School graduating class, January 1925. The class consists of 19, six girls and 13 boys. Some of the students are also in A612-0. (WSHS- negative A642-0)
Students--Tacoma--1920-1930; Lincoln Elementary School (Tacoma);
Workmen are finishing the interior of one of the classrooms at the new Edison School. The April 1949 earthquake severely damaged the earlier school and it was condemned as unsafe and ordered closed in 1950 (along with Whitman and Willard). (For the Record, Winnifred L. Olsen)
Edison Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma;
Stanley Grade School under construction in September of 1925 at South 17th and Grant Avenue. At the end of November of 1925, 300 students from southend schools, Lincoln, Longfellow and Irving, moved into the spacious new school built to accomodate 480. The school, designed by architect G.W. Bullard, had twelve classrooms and was built for approximately $90,000. It was two stories with a basement and built solidly of brick. The school was named after George A. Stanley, Central School principal for 27 years and one of the Northwest's leading educators. In June of 1983, the main part of the school was declared unsafe in case of an earthquake and the school was officially closed. (WSHS- negative A855-0) (TNT 9/3/1925, pg. 17; TNT 11/27/1925, pg. 13)
Stanley Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930; Building construction--Tacoma--1920-1930;
School is almost out for these eighth graders at Bryant School in June of 1924. The elementary school, located at 708 South Ainsworth Avenue, was named after poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant. It would close in 1961. G46.1-063
Bryant Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930; School children--Tacoma--1920-1930;
This is Miss Anna B. Quigley's 6A class standing in front of the entrance to Lowell School, 1210 North Yakima Avenue, in June of 1924. Two girls in the front row hold a scroll indicating that the class was a "Savings Banner Room." The scroll was given by the Education Thrift Service headquartered in New York. Each Tuesday was banking day at Tacoma Public Schools and each week Miss Quigley's class had the greatest percentage of depositors at Lowell. Her class were perennial winners. TPL-2331; G46.1-105 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 6-15-24, 4-A)
Lowell Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930; School children--Tacoma--1920-1930; Teachers--Tacoma--1920-1930; Quigley, Anna B.;
This photograph of the intersection of 12th St. and North Yakima Avenue, looking north on Yakima, was taken on September 3, 1927, for court evidence involving an automobile accident. Further information on the case was not provided. Lowell (Elementary) School is on the left, just past the lamppost, at 1210 North Yakima Ave. It would be demolished after sustaining major damage in the 1949 earthquake and the school rebuilt at 810 North 13th St. G62.1-130
Streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Lowell Elementary School (Tacoma)--Buildings;
Seven small children stand in front of the massive Roosevelt Elementary School, 3550 E. Roosevelt Ave., on January 12, 1928. This was the second building on this site as the original structure, built in 1904, was sold and removed upon the construction of a new brick building in 1921. Roosevelt Elementary was named in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt. The second Roosevelt Elementary would be subsequently remodeled and added onto in later years. BU-11341
Roosevelt Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930;
This is Madison Elementary School, 3102 South 43rd St., as seen in January of 1928. The six-room school, designed by architects Hill & Mock, was completed in October of 1924 at a cost of approximately $35,000. It had replaced two portable buildings on the same site. The school doubled in size in 1957 and improvements made in 1967 and 1979. Madison is no longer an elementary school but currently houses Headstart and Early Childhood Education programs. BU-11,329 (Olsen: For the Record, p. 119)
Madison Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930;
These two small portable buildings made up Larchmont Elementary School in 1928. Parents in the Larchmont area had asked for a school in their neighborhood as far back as 1915 as they felt Fern Hill School was not within walking distance for small children. In 1920 the School Board authorized purchase of 2 1/2 acres of land near South 96th & B Streets for $2000 and placed one portable on the property. Another portable and a second teacher were added in 1924 due to increased enrollment. Larchmont was closed in 1932 during the Great Depression and reopened in 1935 only as a primary school, serving grades one through three. It closed again in 1939 and structures removed. The school opened once again in 1953, again in portables, but it was not until 1969 when a new "one-room" school was built at 8601 East B. G46.1-095 (Olsen: For the Record, p. 117-118-article)
Larchmont Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930;
In 1922, small children lined up by wooden school desks to participate in a flag salute at an unidentified Eatonville grade school. This may have been a first or second grade class. School had only been in session since the beginning part of September so these small pupils could still have been learning school routines. G46.1-053
School children--Eatonville; Elementary schools--Eatonville; Public schools--Eatonville; Flags--United States; Flag salutes--Eatonville; Saluting--Eatonville;
Miss Berg's first grade class at Lowell School. The children are all clutching small postcard-sized cards while one young man waits with an open bag. The classroom flag is hoisted by a boy dressed neatly in suit and tie. Miss Berg would later teach third grade at Lowell where one of her pupils was George Weyerhaeuser, victim in the 1935 famous kidnapping. TPL-5797; G46.1-054
School children--Tacoma--1920-1930; Lowell Elementary School (Tacoma); Public schools--Tacoma--1920-1930; Berg, Lucille; Teachers--Tacoma--1920-1930; Flags--United States;
Mrs. Lou Miller, principal and track coach of Ruston (grade) School, raises her gun to start her three students off running. The boys were practicing for the April, 1928 county grade school meet at Spanaway. Richard Andeson, farthest left, was entering his first meet. Donald Nevers (also spelled Neuens in the News Tribune article) and John Slavich were high point winners of their respective classes last year. Boys were divided into three classes according to weight, height and age. Ruston School planned to enter various dashes, baseball throws and relay races. The school fielded boy and girl track athletes; girls would also enter the Spanaway meet. Mrs. Miller had been coaching for several years with her charges performing admirably in their athletic endeavors. (TNT 4-18-28, p. 14)
ca. 1945. Thrift is a community south of Orting in rural Pierce County. Charles & Minnie Thrift began farming in the area about 1893. The Thrift School District later consolidated with the Kapowsin district. It is now part of the Bethel School District, which was created in 1949. This class photo was taken by photographer Chapin Bowen about 1945.
