This People's History of Irving School is taken from Building for Learning: Seattle Public School Histories, 1862-2000 by Nile Thompson and Carolyn J. Marr. That book, published in 2002 by Seattle Public Schools, compiled profiles of all the public school buildings that had been used by the school district since its formation around 1862. The profiles from the book are being made available as People's Histories on HistoryLink.org courtesy of Seattle Public Schools. It should be noted that these essays are from 2000. Some of the buildings profiled are historic, some of recent vintage, and many no longer exist (new names and buildings not included in these profiles from 2000 have been added), but each plays or has played an important role in the education of Seattle's youth.
Irving School (formerly East Side School)
East Side School was built by Ballard School District No. 50. After it was annexed into the Seattle School District, attendance swelled. The East Side Annex operated from 1908 to 1910 in four rooms in Ballard buildings rented from Henry Lewis. The Seattle School Board renamed East Side in honor of Washington Irving a few years after annexation. It was closed in 1915, and students were sent to nearby Central School, which was the renamed Washington Irving School (see Ballard). In fall 1918, the former East Side School reopened for adjustment classes as Ballard Special School and continued in use for special needs students until 1932, when it was closed.
Details:
Name: East Side School
Location: Railroad Avenue (14th NW) & Holbrook Street (NW 52nd)
Building: 8-room wood
Architect: T.G. Bird
Site: 1.61 acres
1902: Opened by Ballard School District
1907: Annexed into Seattle School District
1910: Renamed Irving on July 7
1915: Closed in December
1918: Renamed Ballard Special School on November 7
1929: Renamed Robert Fulton Adjustment School
1932: Closed; used as a district storehouse
1937: Begins use as WPA offices
1948: Sold on August 18
