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Overview

This was the second schoolhouse designed by William E. Boone called the "South School" in Seattle. The first was a two-room, wood-frame school opened in 1873; when this larger and more modern two-story brick South School opened in 1889, the earlier building was renamed the "Main Street School." The Seattle architectural firm of Boone and Meeker also designed the Seattle Central School in 1888-1889.

Building History

One of the last commissions done by the firm of Boone and Meeker was the South School #2 for the Seattle Public Schools. At this time, the district had a female superintendent, Julia E. Kennedy, quite a rarity for 1889. In 04/1889, while the building was under construction, neighbors petitioned Kennedy and school administrators to embellish what was seen as a plain building. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported: "At last night's meeting of the school board a petition was read from W.C. Hill and many other residents of the northern portion of Seattle, asking that the South school, now in the course of construction, be improved in its architectural appearance. On motion, Architect William E. Boone was instructed to add a tower to the building." (See "The School Directors," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 04/13/1889, p. 3.)

Building Notes

The South School #2 had a relatively simple appearance for 1889, a period that preferred diverse forms, textures and colors in its architecture. It was something of a hybrid, but relied mostly on Italianate stytlistic precedents, evident in the corbeling, long thin windows, and wrought iron work at the parapet lines. The turned posts supporting its main entry could have been seen in Eastlake or Queen Anne buildings.

Demolished;

PCAD id: 18251