John Shearer: An Architectural And Historical Look At The School Buildings Eyed For Closing, Part 1

Many Hamilton Countians gasped in recent days over the preliminary report by MGT Consulting Group identifying more than $1.36 billion in school facilities capital needs.  

 

If nothing else, the announcement of the findings was at least a reality check.

 

The recommendations, which must be approved by the Hamilton County School Board and may be months or years from being implemented in any form, did include the closing or razing of around 20 school buildings

 

For many with connections to the schools, the honest and frank recommendation was a hard pill to swallow.

 

Of course, members of many of these school communities – Lookout Mountain Elementary, for example – will probably work hard to keep their schools open.

 

The same will probably occur as well for those whose school buildings – like Brainerd High -- are not only scheduled to close, but also to be reused as other county schools.

 

Amid all this news -- even though it might be more of a back story for school administrators, teachers, students and their families – is the fact that many of these schools might eventually be torn down after they are closed and shuttered.

 

And many of them are considered very fine examples of Chattanooga and American architecture from before or after World War II, and would be considered big losses in the historic preservation community.

And most also have sentimental memories for former students, teachers or parents, and their disappearances would signal the losses of giant tangible keepsakes of history and nostalgia.

 

While some praised structures like Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences on Third Street and Lookout Mountain Elementary would likely not be torn down unless they have some compromised issues, the same might not be true for others.

 

This possible disposal of these historic buildings has all come about in part because school officials are primarily concerned with how a building functions, whether it is being maintained properly, and how it meets the needs of today’s students. The architectural value of a historic school is generally not paramount.

 

Officials definitely prefer a new or greatly remodeled school building whenever possible, but a lack of public funds has allowed many of these historic buildings to remain as school buildings longer than expected. That is a plus for historic preservationists, or those with a personal and nostalgic attachment to a building.

 

With all this in mind, I decided to try and examine the outsides of the buildings eyed for being taken out of circulation and critique their qualities as public education spaces simply from a walk or glance around their outsides.

 

And I also put on my visioning cap and, instead of seeing them torn down and the sites redeveloped for other uses, I tried to envision what those school buildings could be reused as, provided they are still restorable.

 

For this story, I have examined six schools, with plans to do the others in followup articles over the coming days. One or two of them I happened to examine in recent weeks just out of a personal interest in old school buildings, and not knowing they might be on the public chopping block either again or for the first time.

 

The first three examined are inter-connected as part of a plan to combine the nearby Alpine Crest, Rivermont and DuPont elementary schools into one new school on the DuPont campus after the current school is torn down.

 

Countless Chattanoogans have driven by DuPont and Rivermont due to their locations on busy Hixson Pike, but the same cannot be said for Alpine Crest. It sits off Stagg Road on the backside of the ridge a few hundred yards east of Dayton Boulevard.

 

Alpine Crest had opened in 1957 and was described as an “ultra-modern” school at the time. For someone who pulls in the parking lot, it looks like a typical mid-century school, not overly spectacular.

 

I could not find the name of the architect in the one or two old newspaper articles I discovered at the library.

 

The school’s principal for the first 22 years of its existence was Fred Jackson, and it also had a unique historical mural added in 1963 by artist Mrs. Charles Thompson.

 

But what is unique about the school is how the U-shaped campus open to the ridge looks like two giant sets of stairs, with classrooms located on four different – but connected – levels. While that might cause a lot of exertion by students and teachers, it is a unique and nicely done feature architecturally.

 

I happened to first see the outside of the school earlier this summer on a garden tour, and then went back and jogged around its multiple small fields and green spaces one afternoon a few days later when I had the grounds basically to myself.

 

What is also unique about this school campus is its sloping wooded greenspace above it that makes for a great outdoor classroom and, even more important, some welcome greenspace.

 

The building, if in good condition, looks like it could easily make a condominium complex, with classrooms or several classrooms seeming as if they already outline the units.

 

The original part of Rivermont Elementary opened in 1954 after being designed by Harrison Gill and Associates. It was a nice mid-century school building with plenty of glass for its first few decades, but was later covered up, perhaps to solve energy or light issues.

 

As a result, it has more of a basic box look rather than the nice mid-century appearance it once had, despite the still-nice and light-colored brick framing. However, perhaps as a way to offset this, the school has painted some simply gorgeous murals facing Hixson Pike.

 

Each wall on the front spells out STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, etc.

 

The school has less space for playgrounds or running around than Alpine Crest, but does have an adequate field on its north side and an old baseball field on the south end, where I played little league baseball one summer in the late 1960s. There is also an elevated area above the north field, although that may not be part of the property.

 

Because the building has been altered over the years for function over form – minus the unique murals – it seems most suited to become some kind of office or maybe retail facility if closed and the school plant is preserved. However, due to the fact it is located in a hot residential area of Chattanooga, someone might want to lower it and build a mini-subdivision of 10 homes, or maybe some connected townhomes or condominiums.

 

The current DuPont School features a unique style of architecture really not seen on another school in Chattanooga that I know of. It has a little of the industrial look of pre-World War II with its curved section and brick glass, as well as a mid-century look with its numerous glass window panes, its colorful opaque panes and some diamond brick designs.

 

Its original part had opened in 1959 after being designed by James G. Gauntt, who apparently did not design a whole lot of other Chattanooga area schools. It was built by T.U. Parks.

 

In addition to its one big field along Access Road and two smaller ones – where I played tee ball before I played baseball at Rivermont -- it also has a simply gorgeous grassy area covered in trees.

 

Along a section of Hixson Pike with little other greenspace, it is a welcome sight for passing motorists.

 

Most historic preservationists would likely encourage the preservation of this school building, as well as the trees if a new school building to draw students from all three zones had to be built in another area of the land.

 

Another mid-century school near Hixson Pike and also pinpointed to be shuttered is the former White Oak Elementary School off Altamont Road and near the Duck Pond. Opened in 1959, it was constructed by T.U. Parks to replace the 1926 White Oak school that burned in 1958. The architect of the structure could not be found, unless it is on a plaque inside the school somewhere or in yellowed files belonging to the school board.

 

After White Oak closed about 2006, the building became the Dawn School for children with disabilities.

 

Of the six schools examined for this story recently, this one appeared to be the most unkempt, at least on the outside. Paint on metal window frames is rusty, and it looks like a volunteer cleanup is needed to get rid of some of the brush outside. A visitor might not realize it is being used, as it looks like maybe just part of the school is currently occupied.

 

However, in many ways this school is the most fascinating of the six. It is not only mid-century architecture nicely done, but it also has a little flare of the mid-century modern to it as well.

 

This is primarily due to all the unique ways the countless window panes cover the school about as much as the brick does.

 

If the school board ever sells this building, and it is still salvageable, it would make a great condominium complex in the mid-century theme, perhaps decorated with mid-century furniture that is now the rage. All the classrooms also make good basic units. It is right next to trendy North Chattanooga and up-and-coming Red Bank, and you would definitely have some rooms with views with all the windows.

 

And its three levels of fields with some old trees would also make a nice park or recreation space after the brush is cleaned out.

 

Of course, also because of its location, developers would probably line up to buy it, tear it down, and build houses – probably the kind close to each other.

 

Two other schools also in the general area of north of downtown and scheduled to be vacated are two of the prized school buildings in Chattanooga from a historic preservationist’s point of view. They are the Normal Park Museum Magnet Upper School and the Normal Park Museum Magnet Lower School.

 

To old-timers, these are the former North Side/North Chattanooga Junior High just below the Center for Creative Arts/former City High, and the former Normal Park Elementary further east on Mississippi Avenue, respectively.

 

The report talked about combining the two Normal Park schools in the current Center for Creative Arts building, and vacating these buildings.

 

The old North Side Junior High/Normal Park Upper opened in 1931, with W.H. Sears as the supervising architect. It features a classic school design with steps leading up to multiple front doors in the middle, surrounded on both sides by slender turrets.

 

With that and the precast stone surrounding the windows, it has the look of one or two older buildings at UTC.

 

Most lovers of old architecture would likely consider the building beautiful and an example of architecture of old of the highest quality, despite a little rusty paint here and there and some chipped precast stone in places.

 

A glance in a front window shows some steps that go up and down, making the building like a giant split foyer. It also has some additions in the back and an old sports field with a goal post at the bottom.

 

I played both football and basketball there over the years when it was Northside and I was at Baylor.

 

But perhaps the best part of this school is maybe its front lawn, which is spacious enough to let someone stand back and enjoy the classic front of the school. And passing traffic on Mississippi Avenue is not enough to bother someone standing there, as it might be on busier Third Street in front of another handsome classic building – the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences.

 

However, the front lawn is not landscaped overly well, perhaps because students at some point might have been involved in the work or planning. An apple tree can be found there, which is actually probably appropriate for a school, and two giant crepe myrtles stand in front of the school like sentries and block the view of the building a little.

 

Because of its location along Dallas Road, this building – at least the front part -- might make a good and unique office or multiple retail facility if it could be preserved and restored following its possible disposal by the school board.

 

Or it could also make great apartment or condominium housing carved into the former rooms, if only people could be creative and find ways to make a project feasible.

 

Of course, this whole site, too, would be eyed by a developer wanting to build something anew there for all the would-be North Chattanooga residents likely standing in line.

 

The historic Normal Park school a few hundred yards east also has a classic and praised school look as well, with interesting brick patterns and precast stone covering much of the front.

 

Since it was built near churches and homes in a block format, despite the undulating terrain, it almost looks like an urban school one would find in a bigger city, like in one of the five boroughs of New York.

 

This is due in part to the small-but-adequate amount of grass between the front of the school and Mississippi Avenue. It also has a small grass field and a playground behind the school along with a newer building.

 

I was actually planning to go to or call the Public Library to find some historical information on the school, but when I visited Saturday to get some pictures, I had all my questions answered just with a look.

 

Above the entrance I saw the date 1939 as part of the ornamentation on the precast stone, and then I saw that same date on a cornerstone by the doors. Also listed was the date 1896, recognizing the old Normal College educational facility that had been at the site.

 

And then I peaked in the front door window and saw a plaque saying it was built that year with the help of President Franklin Roosevelt and the Public Works Administration. It also listed the architect as Gordon Smith and the contractor as John Martin Co.

 

It also had floors going up and down, similar to the Upper School/Northside. Needless to say, an older graduate might have trouble wandering around either school and reminiscing.

 

If this building was disposed of and the now-popular-and-prized Normal Park Museum Magnet program did move to the Center for Creative Arts, historic preservationists would again probably say it needs to be preserved, likely for apartment/condominium housing.

 

Or how about a bed and breakfast inn?

 

Some developers, too, might like it as the site of three or four new houses, after, of course, demolition.

 

For now, though, it and the other buildings are still standing and waiting on the typical slow movement of bureaucracy. As a result, the nostalgically and architecturally bent can still enjoy the form of these buildings, even if the function of them is not what school administrators and the consulting group consider ideal.

 

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In subsequent stories in the near future, architectural and historical examinations will also be made of the following other county school buildings also scheduled to be closed, shuttered and/or torn down: Barger Elementary, Clifton Hills Elementary, CSAS, CSLA, Harrison Bay Vocational High, Lakeside Elementary, Lookout Mountain Elementary, Lookout Valley Elementary, Orchard Knob Middle, Sequoyah Vocational High School, Soddy-Daisy Middle School, Tyner High, and Tyner Middle.

 

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Note: This is another in a series of stories looking at, analyzing and critiquing Chattanooga’s architectural, urban and pastoral landscape.

 

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Jcshearer2@comcast.net