Union School | |
Location | 205 W. Baldwin St., St. Johns, Michigan |
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Coordinates | 42°59′52″N 84°33′39″W / 42.99778°N 84.56083°W |
Area | 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) |
Built | 1885 |
Architect | Oliver Hidden, Watkins & Arnold |
Architectural style | Tudor Revival, Queen Anne, Jacobean |
NRHP reference No. | 80001851 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | May 15, 1980 |
Designated MSHS | February 27, 1980 [2] |
The Union School, also known a Central Elementary School, was an educational building located in St. Johns, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site [2] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. [1] The school building has been replaced by a housing development.
The St Johns school district was founded in 1857; the district re-organized in 1862 and built their second permanent building on this site in 1864. [3] The school burned in early 1885, and construction began on the Union School, the third building constructed for the St. Johns school district, later in the year. [2] It was designed by architect Oliver Hidden of the Bay City/ Detroit firm Watkins, Hidden, and Arnold. The building was used as a school by the district until 1986.
The district sold the building to private owners, [2] and houses were constructed on the former site of the school in 2000. [4]
The St. Johns Union School was a 2-1/2 story red brick building set on a raised stone foundation and topped with a slate roof. [2] The school covered an area 147 feet (45 m) long 74 feet (23 m) wide. [3] It had a central mass with a hip roof and two T-shaped wings, also with hip roofs. Broad gable roof dormers broke up the roofline on the front facade, and a square belfry tops the center mass. The exterior decoration included Tudor Revival elements on the entrance surrounds, and first- and second-floor window hoods.
On the interior, classrooms were located in the main masses, with the narrow connecting "T" legs containing stairways, a library, and administration offices. [2] When it was constructed, the building had state-of-the-art lighting, heating, ventilation, and fireproofing.