Seattle's Rainier School opened as the Jackson Street School, built by the realty firm Eshelman, Lewellyn & Company to stimulate growth in the Rainier Heights neighborhood. Seattle's population was growing quickly at the time, and although the school opened with just 20 students, its enrollment grew to 192 just four years later. In 1891 a new school building opened across the street from the old school, able to accommodate 12 teachers and 422 pupils. The area grew so fast that by 1901, there were almost twice as many students and twenty teachers, making Rainier the largest grade school in the city.

The building pictured here is the wood-framed school built in 1891, likely shortly after its construction. The building contained eight classrooms, and featured a tall cupola, attractive arched windows, and a wide porch with four pillars. Citing a district-wide drop in enrollment, the school district closed Rainier School in 1940. As part of the effort to train workers for World War II production, in 1942 the district operated an aircraft assembly program at Rainier, and graduates went on to jobs at Boeing. In 1943, the school became the Building Trades unit of Edison Technical School. By 1957 the building had become a fire hazard, and it was demolished to make room for a new building with six woodworking shops.

Printed on mount: Rainier School, Seattle
Handwritten on image: Sept. 10 = 1846
Handwritten on verso: Romans Photographic Company
SHS category: Schools

Caption information source: "Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2000: Rainier School," HistoryLink.org Essay 10579.