In 1875 the Seattle School District purchased a 1.4-acre site at Madison Street between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, on First Hill. This location was just three blocks to the east of the first Central School, which, as the city's only public school, had grown beyond capacity. The district opened a temporary annex at the site in 1878, which was used until 1883, when its replacement was completed on the same site. The school was initially named Eastern School, in the tradition of using relative location as the basis for school names (e.g., Central, North, and South). It was also called Sixth Street School in reference to its location, a practice that led North School to be called Pine Street School and South School to be called Main Street School.
This image is of the second, permanent school built at the 7th Avenue and Madison Street, now referred to as Central School II, which served area students until 1938 and was demolished in 1953.
Caption information source: http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/15216 Caption information source: "Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2000: Central School II" HistoryLink.org Essay 10482
ID Number: Lib1991.5.76
Date: Circa 1895
Physical Description: 1 photographic print mounted on cardboard : b&w ; 4 x 6 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, William S. Newton Photographs, Lib1991.5.76
