This Beautiful Old School was Demolished in 1985
Central High School, Dubuque Iowa
Central High was the first permanent high school in Iowa. This unsubstantiated claim is unlikely since an 1858 law required school districts to establish high schools. Even allowing for tardy compliance or building new high school buildings a permanent high school building would surely have been built before 1893-94. For example, there was a school built in West Des Moines in 1868 for $45,000, possibly West High. Dubuque probably built the first real public schoolhouse, but in 1833. Central High was the city's first permanent high school building.
The school was closed in 1923 and was used as administrative offices by the school district. It was demolished in 1985.
Located a block from one of the city's 200-foot bluffs, the school's massiveness and rock-faced exterior make it stand out prominently in this largely residential neighborhood. However, most homes date from the 1860s-1880s and the presence of the 1893-94 school enhances the area. The only comparable nearby structure is a large house of 1890-91, also Romanesque.
Built of brick with a red sandstone veneer, the school exhibits textbook Romanesque features, notably its sol mass, hipped roof with additional gables, rounded and squared towers, large and small round arches, and ribbons of transomed windows. Long, rounded projections flank gables on both the main body and the towers. On the clock tower, slender, round-arched windows are recessed and tied together with long piers. An element often associated with the work of architect Frank Furness is the groups of squat piers at the ends of round-arched columns on the clock tower and at the entrances to create a feeling of tension and strength. The architect, G. Stanley Mansfield of Freeport, Illinois, demonstrates an awareness of Romanesque principles and school design.
The interior continues the display of rich textures and fine materials. There is dark wainscoting and trim throughout. The stairs are a focal point, having turned spindles and heavy newels. Leaded, stained glass fills the transom windows of a bank of six windows on the bowed staircase landing, all outlined in dark wood and wainscoting.
The exterior is intact, but for the addition of new aluminum doors. The stone veneer is spalling in some places, forcing the erection of barricades for pedestrian safety. There are few interior plan changes, most of which date from the 1923 conversion from school to administrative offices. Some walls were added to create office space.
The school contains rooms typical for a high school. A two-story auditorium/gymnasium occupies half of the first and second floors. On the third floor, there is a kitchen and a chemistry lab as well as conventional classrooms. In the basement are manual training and woodworking shops and locker rooms. A central hallway with stairs at either end roughly bisects the building.
(1982)
(1982)
(1982)
