Glencoe School (Portland, Oregon)

Title: Glencoe School (Portland, Oregon)
LC Subject: Architecture, American Architecture--United States
Creator: Doyle, Albert E.
Creator Display: Albert Ernest Doyle (architect, 1877-1928)
Description: This image is included in Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, a digital collection which provides documentation about the architectural heritage of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Historic Site Form. Prepared by Iris Eschen.
Provenance: University of Oregon Libraries
Temporal: 1920-1929
Style Period: Italianate (North American architecture styles )
Work Type: architecture (object genre) built works views (visual works) exterior views public schools (buildings) architectural drawings (visual works) plans (orthographic projections) plans, floor
Latitude: 45.516932
Longitude: -122.610311
Location: Portland >> Multnomah County >> Oregon >> United States Multnomah County >> Oregon >> United States Oregon >> United States United States
Street Address: 825 SE 51st Ave
Date: 1923
View Date: 2009
Identifier: OR_Multnomah_Portland_Glencoe.pdf
Rights: In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Type: Image
Format: application/pdf
Material: Stucco; Concrete
Set: Building Oregon
Primary Set: Building Oregon
Institution: University of Oregon
Citation: PPS Historic Building Assessment 2009
Note: Oregon Historic Site Form Glencoe School 825 51st Ave Portland, Multnomah County block nbr: lot nbr: tax lot nbr: township: range: section: 1/ 4: LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME elig. evaluation: not eligible/ non- contributing primary orig use: School secondary orig use: primary style: Mediterranean Revival secondary style: primary siding: Stucco secondary siding: Concrete: Other/ Undefined plan type: School ( General) Portland historic name: Glencoe School primary constr date: 1923 secondary date: 1964 height (# stories): 2 total # ineligible resources: 2 ( optional-- use for major addns) current/ other names: ( c.) ( c.) orig use comments: prim style comments: sec style comments: location descr: assoc addresses: vcnty address: ( remote sites) siding comments: PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS farmstead/ cluster name: zip: total # eligible resources: 0 apprx. addrs resource type: Building NR status: RLS survey date: 7/ 7/ 2009 external site #: 157 ( ID# used in city/ agency database) survey project name or other grouping name comments/ notes: The property contains two non- contributing resources; the main building ( 157A) and a portable ( 157P1). The school is listed as a HRI Rank III resource. ILS survey date: 7/ 7/ 2009 Gen File date: SHPO INFO FOR THIS PROPERTY NR date listed: GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS Optional Information 825 SE 51st Ave Multnomah County ( former addresses, intersections, etc.) architect: A. E. Doyle builder: NR date listed: ( indiv listed only; see Grouping for hist dist) 106 Project( s) PPS Historic Building Assessment 2009 Survey & Inventory Project East Elevation Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 1 of 4 Oregon Historic Site Form Glencoe School 825 51st Ave Portland, Multnomah County ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION ( Include expanded description of the building/ property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings, and alterations) HISTORY ( Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period [ preferably to the present]) Description Summary Located in the Mt. Tabor neighborhood of east Portland, the 1923 Glencoe Elementary School consists of a two- story reinforced concrete that exhibits a stucco finish. The Mediterranean Revival building has a U- shaped plan with the auditorium and gymnasiums constructed between the arms that form the U- shape. Glencoe Elementary School is ornamented with simple concrete cornices and belt courses. The primary entrance, located on a central pavilion, is marked by a recessed opening with terra cotta detailing. Other entrances are marked by terra cotta surrounds, pilasters, and pediments. Bands of vinyl windows provide the fenestration. The building is capped by a hip roof with ceramic tile. Double loaded corridors provide access to the administrative offices, classrooms, and recreation spaces. Architectural Description Glencoe Elementary School is situated in the Mt. Tabor neighborhood of east Portland at 825 SE 51st Avenue. The neighborhood consists of single family residences built primarily between 1920 and 1950 ( Sanborn Maps 1924- 1928, Sanborn Map updated to 1950). The primary entrance to the facility is from SE 51st Avenue. Play areas and open space occupy the western end of the campus. A rectangular portable classroom with flat roof and T- 111 siding is located to the north of the primary school facility. The primary school facility ( 157A) has a U- shaped plan. The building originally featured an auditorium and two gymnasiums ( play courts) located between the wings that form the U- shape. The auditorium was adapted into a gymnasium and the northern play court into classrooms. Rectangular classrooms and administrative offices comprise the other spaces located along the U- shaped corridor. A large gymnasium was added to the south end of the west elevation in 1964. The campus also includes a portable ( 157P1), which was added in 1968. The two- story Mediterranean Revival Glencoe Elementary School is constructed of reinforced concrete with stucco finish and ornamented with concrete cornices and belt courses. The primary entrance, located on a central pavilion, is marked by a recessed opening with terra cotta detailing. Other entrances are marked by terra cotta pediments and pilasters. Bands of fixed vinyl windows provide the fenestration. The building is capped by a hip roof with ceramic pantiles and the walls were erected on a poured concrete foundation. The principal entrances located along the east ( front) elevation open into an illuminated lobby. Other entrances open into stairwells that are illuminated by windows that cap the entry doors. The double loaded corridors are lined with wood molding and interior ( classroom) windows. Second floor corridors feature skylights. Tubular fluorescent light fixtures are suspended from the acoustic tile clad ceiling. Wood doors with center lights provide access to the classrooms. Flooring consists of concrete, asphalt tiles, linoleum tiles, and carpet. The classrooms feature a rectangular plan with a recessed area that features shelves, cupboards, and closets. Some of the rooms have retained the original wood built- ins. Classroom windows line the exterior walls and retain their wood surrounds. The building is heated by boilers located behind the auditorium on the west side of the building. Grilles set beneath the windows provide heat for the classrooms and other spaces. Alterations/ Integrity The primary two- story building was constructed in 1923. The building included classrooms situated along a U- shaped corridor with an auditorium and two play sheds located between the wings that formed the ‘ U’ shape and a free standing boiler room. Additions to the building include the construction of a kitchen and the extension of the manual training room in 1952 and the construction of a large gymnasium, located off the south end of the west elevation, in 1964. Interior alterations include the reconfiguration of the home economics classroom and original cafeteria into classrooms ( 1953), the girls play court ( gymnasium) into class rooms ( 1963), and the manual training room into a media center ( 1987). The media center was reconfigured in 1988. Other alterations include the replacement of floor tiles ( 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988), windows ( 1988), doors, light fixtures, and some of the classroom built- ins. A portable building, which is located to the northwest of the main building, was added to the campus in 1968. While this building represents 1960s era public school expansion, it is not associated with the development of the primary school facility; therefore, it is not a historically significant resource. Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 2 of 4 Oregon Historic Site Form Glencoe School 825 51st Ave Portland, Multnomah County RESEARCH INFORMATION Title Records Sanborn Maps Obituaries City Directories Census Records Biographical Sources Newspapers Building Permits Property Tax Records SHPO Files State Archives State Library Local Histories Interviews Historic Photographs Local Library: Multnomah County Library University Library: Portland State University Library Historical Society: Oregon Historical Society Other Repository: PPS Archives Bibliography: Betelle, James O. “ Architectural Styles as Applied to School Buildings.” American School Board Journal. Vol. 58 ( April 1919). Cremin, Lawrence. The Transformation of the School: Progressivism in American Education, 1876- 1957. New York: A. Knopt, 1961. Cubberley, Ellwood Patterson. The Portland Survey: A Textbook on City School Administration Based on a Concrete Study. Yonkers-on- Hudson, NY: World Book Co., 1915. Oregonian. “ Mayor Lane and the Schools.” 10- 31- 1906. Patton, Glenn. “ American Collegiate Gothic: A Phase of University Architectural Development.” Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 38, No. 1 ( January, 1967). Portland Public Schools. School Chronology Binder. PPS Archives, Portland, Oregon. _______. Glencoe Elementary School. Facility Profile. _______. Glencoe Elementary School. Building Plans. Powers, Alfred and Howard McKinley Corning, History of Education in Portland. [ Portland]: Work Projects Administration, 1937. Rippa, Alexander. Education in a Free Society: An American History. New York: Longman, 1997. Sanborn Map Company 1924- 1928, 1908- Dec. 1950 Sanborn Maps, Multnomah County Public Library, Portland, Oregon. Available at: ( Check all of the basic sources consulted and cite specific important sources) Statement of Significance Designed by the architect A. E. Doyle, the current Glencoe Elementary School was constructed in 1923 after a fire destroyed much of the 1914 Glencoe Elementary School ( PPS School Chronology Binder). The firm of A. E. Doyle began in 1907 and included other notable architects such as Pietro Belluschi. Before opening his own firm, Doyle apprenticed with the Portland architectural firm Whidden and Lewis and pursued architectural training at Colombia University in New York. A. E. Doyle designed a number of renowned buildings in downtown Portland, including the Meier & Frank Addition, Central Library Building, the original Reed College buildings, as well as a number of bank buildings. Doyle was known for designing in the period revival and Italianate styles, and for his use of glazed terra- cotta. He designed two schools in Portland— Riverdale Grade School ( demolished in 2009), which Doyle designed with Pietro Belluschi, and Glencoe Elementary School ( Ritz 2003: 111- 114). Glencoe Elementary School was constructed during a period of progressive era growth that responded to changing ideas concerning safety, sanitation, and child centered instruction ( Rippa, 1997: passim; Cremin 1961: 135- 153; Cubberley 1915: 283- 290). For Glencoe Elementary School, Doyle adopted the building program and principles that dominated the discourse for school design during the first half of the twentieth century. After several well- publicized school fires in U. S. cities, calls for a more fundamental change in the building construction began as early as 1906 ( Oregonian, 10- 31- 1906). Many of Portland’s new fire proof buildings, such as Glencoe, were constructed of concrete. The school is similar in plan to the two- story U- shaped schools that were constructed with a lateral corridor connected to the front entrance by one or more short hallways. Glencoe, however, deviates from the standard U- shaped plan— the auditorium and two play courts ( or gymnasiums) were located between the wings that form the ‘ U’ shape. Like other PPS buildings constructed during this period, Glencoe contained more differentiated and increasingly specialized space ( Powers and Corning 1937: 182). The school included two play sheds, an auditorium, a manual training room, and a sewing and cooking room ( PPS Architectural Plans 1923). Glencoe Elementary School was constructed in the Mediterranean Revival style, which is characterized by simple rectangular shapes, low pitched roofs, and minimal exterior details. This style was less popular for educational buildings constructed in Portland during this period. Other popular styles included Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, and Collegiate Gothic, which were viewed as inspirational and appropriate for educational settings ( Betelle 1919: 28; Sibley 1923: 66; Patton 1967: 1- 8). The Mediterranean Revival style, however, shares a number of similarities with the other revival styles, which include symmetry and clearly marked and ornamented entrances. This style was well suited to convey the civic stature of schools constructed during this period. Glencoe Elementary School is associated with a noteworthy architect, a modest example of the Mediterranean Revival style, and indicative of public school planning during the Progressive Era. The building, however, does not retain a level of historical integrity commensurate with other Portland Elementary Schools constructed during the same period, such as the Rigler and Irvington Schools and is therefore not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places ( NRHP). Exterior additions ( kitchen, gym, and to the media center) and the reconfiguration of interior spaces, such as the northern gymnasium ( girl's play court), have altered defining features of the 1923 building. Due to the loss of integrity, Glencoe Elementary School is not eligible under either NRHP Criteria A, B, or C. Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 3 of 4 Oregon Historic Site Form Glencoe School 825 51st Ave Portland, Multnomah County https:// catalog. multcolib. org/ validate? url= http% 3A% 2F% 2F0- sanborn. umi. com. catalog. multcolib. org% 3A80% 2F. Accessed June 16, 2009. Sibley, Ernest. “ Why I Prefer the Colonial Style.” School Board Journal: Vol. 66 ( January 1923). Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 4 of 4 Main building ( 157A), east ( front) elevation, looking northwest. Main building ( 157A), north ( side) elevation, looking southeast. Main building ( 157A), west ( rear) elevation, looking northeast. Main building ( 157A) and 1964 addition ( furthest back and to right), looking south. 1964 addition, north elevation, looking southwest. Glencoe School Exterior Photos ENTRIX, 2009 Main building ( 157A), main entrance lobby, looking east. Main building ( 157A), auditorium, looking south. Main building ( 157A), media center, looking southwest. 1964 addition, gymnasium, looking northwest. Main building ( 157A), first floor classroom, looking north. Glencoe School Interior Photos ENTRIX, 2009 1924- 1928, Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Map, Portland, Oregon, Map 930. Arrow points to Glencoe Public School. Updated to 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Map, Portland, Oregon, Map 930. Arrow points to Glencoe Public School. Glencoe School 825 SE 51st Ave, Portland OR, 97215 Building Periods 1. Main Building ( 157A), 1923 2. Gymnasium Add ( 157A), 1964 3. Addition ( 157P1), 1968 Aerial photo © 2009 Metro, Portland OR Imagery Date: July 12, 2007 SE Belmont St SE 51st Ave 1924 photograph of the Glencoe School, looking northwest. View Site in Google Maps Historical Significance and Building Integrity Contrib: High Significance Contrib: Moderate Signif. Non- Contributing 0’ 50’ 100’ 200’ N sandy Blvd Lombard st powell Blvd 82nd ave MLK jr b lvd 1 2 3