Former Middle School in Detroit MI Converted into a Charter School

Elizabeth Cleveland Intermediate School, Detroit Michigan

Date added: March 28, 2025

South (Charles and Conant) elevation (2008)

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Planning for Elizabeth Cleveland Intermediate School began in 1926, with the acquisition of land and selection of architects and a name for the school. It was constructed in 1927 and opened in September of that year. Completed in 1927 at a cost of $904,960, it was named after a special education teacher who worked at several Detroit schools. This building had a planned capacity of 1,800 students and served the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades.

Cleveland Intermediate School is one of five extant intermediate schools constructed in Detroit in 1927 and 1928 according to the same floor plan, a variant of the E-shaped plan developed for Hutchins and Barbour Intermediate Schools in 1921. Each of these buildings, however, featured a unique facade, with that of Cleveland School designed by the firm of Donaldson & Meier. The design for Cleveland School fits neatly into the portfolio of an architectural firm most well known for its ecclesiastical work, such as Detroit's Sacred Heart Seminary (1923). This firm was also responsible for Detroit's prototypical Cooley High school (1927).

The building contained, in addition to regular classrooms, four shops, a drafting room, two "clothing rooms," and two "food centers." Construction of the building's health unit, containing a gymnasium, pool, and locker rooms, began in 1928. The unit opened in 1929. While Detroit intermediate schools were customarily located on an eleven-acre site to provide ample outdoor space for athletic activities, this school's location immediately adjacent to the city's Jayne Playfield precluded this requirement.

Building Description

Elizabeth Cleveland Intermediate School is located in the northern section of the city, several blocks north of the Hamtramck city limits. It is situated on the northwest corner of Conant Street and Charles Street, oriented parallel to neither street, but instead facing the intersection directly. Lacking a playground of its own, it is situated at the edge of the City of Detroit's vast Jayne Playfield. This building was constructed in 1927. This broad, two-story brick structure bears two wings extending rearward, along with a central "health" section including a gymnasium and swimming pool, giving the building an overall E-plan. The building is a prime example of the Collegiate Gothic style, featuring buttresses, oriel windows, and other decorative elements.

Detailed Description

The building's unusual orientation, facing diagonally towards an intersection of two streets rather than facing one street directly, allows full view of its broad side elevations and calls attention to the building's size. The building's two stories are clad in orange brickwork in an English bond, and topped with a flat roof. The facade is articulated into nineteen bays. Separating each bay is a shallow brick pier or buttress extending about a foot above the roofline. The spandrels between the first and second story windows feature brickwork in diamond and checkerboard patterns. Unlike a majority of Detroit public schools, Cleveland Intermediate School retains its original wooden sash windows; they are divided in a six-over-three configuration.

The building's central bay projects forward, occupying a half hexagon-shaped footprint. Above the second-floor windows is a stone panel featuring the words "Elizabeth Cleveland School" in calligraphic lettering, along with Gothic tracery and a shield reading "AD 1927." This section is topped by a high parapet wall.

The aesthetically dominant feature of this building is its pair of entrance pavilions, located two bays to either side of the building's center. On each of these pavilions, a double steel door is recessed within a round-arched, stone surround. This is surmounted by a stone and leaded-glass oriel window. Above this, the pavilion culminates in a square turret, anchored by four cylindrical piers, and featuring a stone parapet decorated with Gothic tracery and depicting a pair of torches flanking an open book. The roofline extending from the building's entrance pavilions to its tall central bay is spanned by a stone balustrade with quatrefoil-shaped openings. Beneath the balustrade, the topmost portion of the building's wall features brickwork in a diaper pattern.

At the building's southwest end, a glass and metal greenhouse protrudes from the facade. This is balanced by a bay window on the building's northeast end. The building's side elevations are similar in detail to the facade, but with upper-story windows above each side entrance divided by stone mullions and set within stone-tabbed surrounds beneath a stone quatrefoil decorative panel. One bay of windows on each side elevation is clad in stone rather than brick. The building's rear health unit features an expansive first story which then steps back to a narrower upper story. The windows on this upper story are large, rectangular, divided lights, providing ample illumination to the building's gymnasium.

The main entry vestibules, located on either side of the projecting central bay, have terrazzo floors, face brick walls, and marble stools below the window sills. Additional entries and stairways are located at the end of the wings that flank the central building bay. These wings have predominately classroom spaces, while the central bay is reserved for large assembly areas.

On the first floor, a swimming pool is located in the central health section. It features enameled brick walls, tile floors, and a terracotta gutter around the rim of the pool. Shower and locker rooms are adjacent. The two-story auditorium is also located on the first floor. The entry to the auditorium has a vaulted ceiling with a bookstore and chair storage on either side of the entry. The raised stage of the auditorium has dressing rooms on either side. A two-story gymnasium is located on the second floor. The second floor also has a lunchroom, a library with oak built-in shelving and a stone fireplace, and conference rooms.