Washington Elementary School Tour Niles Ohio

Tour Washington School—One Last Time.
The sign on the top of the building clearly states “Washington Junior High School 1924”. Other words on the building are: “Industry”, “Liberty”, “Morality” and “Education”. The plaque at the very top center is of George Washington’s likeness.
Washington School on Hartzell Avenue is a beautiful building. There is a cafeteria, auditorium, gym, along with many classrooms in the three floors along with a huge basement and a furnace room.

Washington School on Hartzell Avenue is a beautiful building. There is a cafeteria, auditorium, gym, along with many classrooms in the three floors along with a huge basement and a furnace room.

Many a young child has trudged up the massive cement steps, through the heavy doors, and into a classroom to start their education. In the beginning, this school served classes from 1-9 then the student went downtown to McKinley High School, (later Edison School) on Church Street for the remainder of their education.

Things have changed in Niles. Neighborhood schools, as we knew them, are a thing of the past. This year a new high school was built just north of the old McKinley High School which will be demolished soon. Then Lincoln School, built in 1956, was torn down and now a new K-2 School is being built on that site on Frederick Street. On East Margaret Street, S. J. Bonham School, built in 1956, has been razed and a new 3,4,and5 grade school is being built. The new Middle School on Brown Street houses all the students in classes 6,7,and 8.
So this leads us back to Washington School. It too will soon be razed. So we’ll take one last look around.

Remember the auditorium where all those school plays and musical programs took place? How many remember the gym, where you could throw the basketball and it hit the surrounding rim of the track above, or the ball would hit the steel beam. Remember the water fountain in the cafeteria. It was up so high, that you had to use the step stool to get a drink when you were small. Passing through the doors to arrive at the cafeteria which was home to many after school functions.
The steps to next floor are built of salt and pepper granite. Now they are well worn from all the foot traffic they have had through the years. So for 89 years, Washington School served the community well and it holds a lot of memories for each of us.

Washington Memories: going home for lunch, opening and smelling your crayon box for the first time, the taste of paste in a jar, finding sassafras roots in the woods, riding a bike to school, special assemblies with the ‘Science Guy’, clapping dust from erasers, Selena Coupland checking our heads with an ultra-violet lamp, finding the secret rooms above the stage, clocks with Roman numerals, school patrol boys with badges to help the younger ones across Hartzell, Church League Basketball games at night in the Gym, class recess on the big playground, riding your bike home down the ‘Ash Path’, and of course—sled riding down Washington Hill.