Red brick schoolhouses

Inspired by this fun book, a fascinating website that Jimmy shared with me, and a recent visit to the Washington Historical Society, I decided to rebrand some of my previous posts with a new label.  Titled Local Color, it is meant to serve as a catch-all for content directly related to the place that I call home, ranging from ruminations on city politics and events to photos from my periodic weekend roamings.  More than anything, I hope to capture an appreciation of local history, especially interesting old buildings and institutions, with particular attention paid to the impact (or lack thereof) that it continues to have on our modern lives.

One of the exhibits at the Historical Society is currently dedicated to the preservation of DC’s 19^th century school buildings, particularly the Franklin School, off of K Street downtown.  Fresh off seeing Waiting for Superman, the maladies of our nation’s public schools were planted prominently in my mind when I visited. I thought the film was very well done, though rather than inspire me with the sweeping possibility of education reform, it instilled in me a dire, depressing sense of helplessness.

By contrast, in the 1860’s, the District helped to pioneer the evolution of American public education from the single-room schoolhouse to a model that resembles our present-day system – large buildings with classes separated by age.  The city engaged architect Adolf Cluss, whose mark can be found on many notable city buildings, including Eastern Market, to design several of these facilities.

Wallach School

The first, the Wallach School, was located on Capitol Hill.  It was a grand-looking building with a capacity of 600 students, named for the mayor who spearheaded this reform effort.  A prototype for many others that followed, the Wallach School gained international recognition as a model for urban public schooling.  It operated until the mid twentieth century when, unfortunately, it was razed and replaced with a modern building (the Hine Junior High School) that has since been abandoned.  Many of these historic structures met with this sad fate during this period.

Of the handful that remain are the Sumner School at 17^th & M NW, still in use, and the Franklin School, which currently sits empty.  Even after students left, the District’s school administration offices were housed there until they outgrew the space in the 1960’s.  Since then, the school was used briefly as a homeless shelter but its future is now uncertain.  The building graces the eastern side of Franklin Square, nestled among modern high rise offices - a reminder of a rustic age gone by, when DC’s public education system was at the forefront of the world, instead of a national disgrace.

Franklin School

Sumner School