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Building History

In the early phases of planning for this school, it was referred to as the "Bay Side School" due to its location in the Bay Side Addition tract. This was not the official name of the school, however. It became known by its larger neighborhood location, Beacon Hill, named for the section of Boston, MA.

The Beacon Hill School #1 opened in 1899 on a 3.07-acre property located near the intersection of Lander Street and 16th Avenue South. According to Niles Thompson and Carolyn Marr in their detailed study of Seattle Public Schools, "The first Beacon Hill School was a two-room, wood pavilion. It opened with three classes, expanded to 100 students in grades 1-5 during 1901-02 and doubled in enrollment the following year when it went to grades 1-8." (See Nile Thompson and Carolyn J. Marr, HistoryLink.org, "Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2000: Beacon Hill Elementary School," published 08/22/2013, accessed 08/14/2021.)

It was superceded in 1904 by the construction of Saunders and Lawton’s Beacon Hill School #2, located to the north at 2524 16th Avenue South. After the construction of the second school, it is not known how the Beacon Hill School #1 functioned between 1904 and 1916, but in the latter year it was reutilized as an annex to the second school.

It was no longer used by 1971, and was incorporated into the El Centro de la Raza six years later.

Building Notes

The wood-frame Beacon Hill School #1 sat elevated on high foundations and had a hipped roof with a central chimney. A gable-roofed porch projected from the west wall, several steps leading up to its front door on the south. A row of five double-hung windows opened the south wall.

Demolition

The Beacon Hill School #1 burned in a fire on 08/08/1988. See Nile Thompson and Carolyn J. Marr, HistoryLink.org, "Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2000: Beacon Hill Elementary School," published 08/22/2013, accessed 08/14/2021.)

PCAD id: 20764