Abandoned school in Washington state

Ritzville High School, Ritzville Washington

Date added: March 14, 2023 Categories: Washington School

Front facade facing 7th Avenue looking southwest (1992)

Arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1880 coincided with the first successful wheat harvests by the area's earliest settlers. Named for Philip Ritz, supposedly the first to put down roots here, Ritzville was made seat of the newly-established Adams County in 1884. Following its incorporation in 1888, the town grew slowly through the nationwide depression of the early 1890s, only to experience phenomenal growth for the next two decades. Expansion of grain markets was credited for the boom: in 1901-1902, more wheat and flour was shipped from Ritzville than from any other primary shipping point in the world. A building boom in the central business district lasted through the first decade of the century, and concluded with construction of the Ritzville Hotel, the NP Passenger Depot, and other buildings.

By 1910 Ritzville's agricultural and population boom was being felt in the local schools. As the only accredited institution of its type in Adams County, Ritzville High School was attracting students from surrounding towns and rural areas. At the close of the year's term, 590 students (the total in all grades) were crowed into increasingly inadequate facilities (Cheney Free Press 27 May 1910, p. 2). "The high school is badly cramped for room," the Ritzville Times proclaimed. "Next year the high school situation will be still worse .. . . This will necessitate the employment of another high school teacher, for the freshman class will have to be divided". The paper also editorialized on the subject and called for action:

Our schools are steadily increasing in efficiency and in the standard of work being done. Their reputation is not confined to the immediate vicinity of the town, but people from a distance are moving in to give their children the advantages of a first-class high school education. Other towns about us have better buildings than we have, and we must stir ourselves or we will be left behind in the race.

In January 1910, Mayor W.R. Peters began circulating a petition calling for school improvements. His efforts, and those of the local commercial club and a group of women activists, helped convince an overwhelming majority of voters to approve a $25,000 bond issue authorizing construction of a new high school. The total was impressive: 335 voters approved of the proposal, while a scant 57 opposed it. Women played a key role in the measure's passage, according to the Times: "Something like 150 [women] cast their ballots, with a very large percentage of them favoring better schools. By the way, give woman the ballot and she will show the same keen interest in all things pertaining to civic uplift, and a cleaner, better government". Obviously, women's suffrage had gained early proponents in Ritzville.

Following the bond election, the school board met and decided to purchase a block in town adjacent to the city waterworks. The owners of the property, T.W. and Sarah Hauschild, were apparently persuaded to donate the block to the school district, as indicated by a metal plaque now affixed to the shop building behind the school. The plaque reads: "This building is dedicated to learning and the perpetuation of democracy. This site was graciously donated by T.W. and Sarah Hauschild and their heirs.". The clerk of the board then advertised for bids, and "several architects" were expected to submit plans.

H.I. Ellis, a Spokane architect, won the contract with his design for a two-story brick building with full basement and all "modern conveniences". The Pettifer Construction Company of Spokane built the structure for a reported $30,000, more than authorized in the February bond issue. "Unavoidable delays" pushed construction of the new building beyond its scheduled 1 September 1910 completion date. Work continued into the fall at least until 29 October when 200 people attended the formal opening. Ritzville high school alumni hosted a public reception in early November at which "several hundred guests inspected the many attractions of the delightful building". As late as December, an "improved ventilating system, the first in the country," was being installed, consisting of electric fans mounted in the roof). Over 100 students were then enrolled in the high school. Charles A.R. Stone was serving as superintendent, Professor Stillwell was principal, and at least three teachers were on the faculty: Mr. Lewis, Miss Graham, and Miss Wilcox.

Despite construction of the new high school, overcrowding again became a problem within a few short years. A report entitled "The Needs of Our Schools," prepared by the Parent-Teachers' Association in March 1917, identified numerous shortcomings in the Ritzville schools, including improper ventilation, inadequate fire protection, and unsanitary conditions, the latter apparently referring to the basement toilets in the high school. "The overcrowded condition of several of the grades was also reported, by no action taken to suggest a remedy".

In 1927 enrollment increased by approximately twenty-five percent over the previous year, creating a "very congested condition" in the school built seventeen years earlier. The school board had "followed the lead of a great many other communities" and established a junior high, which was also housed along with the senior high in the same structure. Classes were held for grades 10 through 12, numbering 133 pupils, in space designed for 100 students. The situation was even worse in the junior high, where 166 pupils were educated in rooms meant for only 80. Space was "so crowded that even with the use of the unsanitary basement, ample room cannot be found for the accommodation of classes".

After "consulting with various architects, and studying buildings and conditions in various cities of the state," the Ritzville school board put the issue of expanding the high school to a vote of the community's citizens. The final selection of a design for the new building apparently came down to a choice between two architects: well-known Julius Zittel, who had served as State Architect and, in 1907, with partner Preusse, designed the Public Library in Ritzville; and George M. Rasque, younger and lesser known. Both men worked out of Spokane and both apparently proposed to add wings to the east and west sides of the high school. Rasque appears to have submitted the first design, but Zittel's proposal attracted considerable attention in that it included an auditorium and stage in the west wing. Those amenities were at first considered by the board to be excessively expensive, as was the gymnasium planned for the new east wing, but all the facilities were included in the final design chosen, that submitted by Rasque. In February 1927, voters approved a $65,000 bond issued and work on the additions began later that year.

As they first appeared in the local press, the new wings were designed to match the older central mass, especially in the roofline/parapet treatments. It is not known whether the publicized design was that of Zittel or Rasque, but when the board chose the latter to design the new school, changes were afoot for both the facade of the older portion of the building as well as for the new wings. Rasque's drawings dated March 1927 show the building as it was eventually built: gone was the curvilinear, Mission-style crown on the cornice at the building's center, as were the classical columns flanking the main entryway on the first floor directly below. A Gothic-like stepped parapet and crown with cast stone shields adorned the roof line of the old building, matched along the cornice of the new wings. An archway of brick construction with parapet wall and cast stone shields matching the roof line replaced the classical entryway on the older central mass. The "Collegiate Gothic" style and decorative motifs were to be imitated in many subsequent schools Rasque designed throughout the region.

Despite loud banging and occasional crashes, construction proceeded on the new wings as classes were held in the older building. The class of 1929 became the first class to graduate from the new facility. For many years, both junior and senior high (grades seven through twelve) students were educated in the building. While its location on the second floor proved awkward and not easily accessible for the elderly, the auditorium became a focal point in the life of the community. Meetings, debates, and spelling bees were held there, as were frequent plays written, produced and acted by students, faculty, Lions Club members, and other civic groups. In days before television and rapid transportation, rural communities relied upon local talent for entertainment, and Ritzville was no exception. Physical education and sporting events were held in the gymnasium for over three decades until a new facility was constructed in 1960. Modifications of the high school reflected changing educational needs, as exemplified by the conversion of two classrooms to create a bandroom in ca. 1949-50.

The Old Ritzville High School was finally abandoned after the Hawthorn School was converted for use as the new high school in 1983. The class of 1982 was the last to graduate from the old school, the fifty-fourth class to do so since the addition of the wings in the late 1920s and the seventy-first class since construction of the original building. Nearly three-quarters of a century of education had finally ended at the Old Ritzville High School.

Building Description

Occupying the northern third of the large block bounded by 10^th and 7^th avenues and Columbia and Division streets, the Old Ritzville High School is a stately reminder of the important role education has played in the historic development of the city of Ritzville. The two-story brick building conveys its historic character through excellent exterior integrity; retention of basic floorplan and interior detailing constitutes structural evidence of the community's achieving its goal of providing local children with modern, spacious facilities for state-of-the-art education in the 1920s.

What is now a single structure is actually an older central mass (built in 1910) facing north onto 7^th Avenue, with matching wings (added in 1927) along Columbia and Division streets. A veneer of salmon-colored brick and galvanized metal cornice mask the seams where the wings meet the older building. Galvanized metal coping and parapets add further continuity to the roof line, which bears shield-shaped reminders of the stone or tile ornamentation that has been removed. ("RHS" was inscribed within the shield over the east wing, "RJH" over the west wing, signifying the original division of the building into junior and senior high schools). Above the centrally-positioned main entryway, a tower-like mass rises slightly above the flat, streamlined parapet wall to a stepped crown. Fenestration patterns of double-hung wood sash windows are repeated on both halves of the front facade, creating a symmetry that implies orderliness and careful planning.

The school measures approximately 202 feet across its imposing front (7^th Avenue) facade. Approximately 102 feet of that distance comprises the older block of the building, with 50-foot wide wings on either side. The wings measure 110 feet in length, both extending beyond the rear of the central mass, thus forming a small three-sided courtyard behind the school. From the first or main floor line to the top of the parapet wall above the roof, the building stands approximately 35 feet high.

Concrete steps flanked by brick piers with cast concrete caps lead to the main floor entryway. The portico consists of a brick arch capped by galvanized iron coping and shield ornamentation matching that along the roofline. The brick and coping motif is reflected in the four side entrances, two on each wing of the building. Brick stoops with concrete steps and brick piers extend outward from the east and west wall entryways. Cast concrete coping and shield ornamentation top the porticos, which consist of brick arches and arching, multi-paned fan lights above double wooden multi-light doors. A modern metal fire escape added subsequent to the school's construction obscures the top of the portico near the northeast corner of the school.

At the main entryway off 7^th Avenue, original wooden, multi-paned double doors with matching sidelights open into a landing from which stairs descend to the basement and rise to the main floor of the older portion of the building. The basement is divided roughly in half: locker and shower rooms occupy the front (north) portion, while a woodshop complete with benches and some remaining tools is housed in the south portion. A wide corridor with hardwood floors and metal lockers mounted into the south wall separates the two halves of the basement. Doorways exit rearward (to the south) from both ends of the corridor into the courtyard behind the building. There are no basement levels below the two side wings of the school.

The main or first floor of the building is on two levels, that in the older central mass being elevated slightly above those of the two wings. A wide hallway connects the older structure with the wings, which are accessed via inclined walkways from the central lobby area. The approximately seven-foot wide corridors running laterally the width of the structure on both the main and upper floors are the elements unifying the interiors of the older building and the wings. Stairwells connect the main floor with the basement below and the second floor above at either end of the older central building where the inclined walkways are positioned in the corridors. What appears to have been a trophy case of relatively recent construction is mounted into the rear wall of the main floor lobby. Otherwise, no ornamentation is evident in what was the central crossroads of student traffic.

Classrooms with hardwood floors, lath and plaster walls and ceilings, blackboards, and fan-shaped fluorescent lighting that does not appear original occupy most of the space on the north side of the main floor. Small administrative offices, one with a wall-mounted safe containing student records, are located on the main floor of the older portion of the building. A faculty lounge and toilets are situated in the north half of the west wing. A gymnasium occupies the rear two-thirds of the east wing, rising the full two stories above its original hardwood floor, now buckled and deteriorated. Lath and plaster walls and a second-level observation balcony with wooden balustrade characterize the gymnasium, which is the largest (77 by 48 feet and two stories high) and perhaps the most significant space in the building.

The southern portion of the west wing has experienced relatively more alteration than the remainder of the structure. Where a once-unobstructed corridor passed L-shaped between classrooms, a wall of lath and plaster now separates the hallway from the southwest entryway into the building. Removal of an original classroom wall and construction of the newer wall across the corridor resulted in the creation of a single large classroom, used as a band room since the modifications were completed ca. 1950. Foreign languages, usually German in this predominantly German community, were taught in a small classroom north of the band room. Across the hallway, home economics was taught in the rooms designed in 1927 for "domestic science" and "sewing." Not surprisingly, some alteration and modernization occurred in those rooms as well. At the northwest corner of the building adjacent to the second west wall entryway, a stairwell rises to the building's upper floor.

Upstairs, the most significant space is the auditorium, measuring approximately 77 by 48 feet. As above the gymnasium, trusses of bolted 2 by 10, 8 by 8, and 8 by 6 inch planks support the roof over the auditorium. Original curved-back wooden seating remains in the auditorium, as do ornate light fixtures that hang from the slightly arched ceiling. The floor slopes downward toward the stage at the front of the room. Footlights and overhead floodlights still remain on the stage, as does an old, painted canvas backdrop. A lath and plaster spotlight/projection box large enough to accommodate both operator and equipment is attached to the rear wall, its floor being about six feet above the floor of the auditorium. Other than obvious signs of age, the auditorium retains excellent integrity.

The classroom across the hallway from the auditorium was used as a chemistry laboratory and lecture room. The lecture room is two steps up from the lab and the spaces are divided by an accordion door. The wooden floors are badly buckled and the plaster ceiling has fallen in places due to water damage. The main central hallway on the second floor was used as locker space.

To the south of this central hallway is the library. Five study/reading rooms line the library on the west and north sides. Walls with large plate glass windows dividing these five rooms from the main library appear to have been added. The floors have been covered with linoleum and an acoustic tile ceiling has been installed. Opposite the library in the central building is a stairwell leading to a small space on the third floor. At one time, this space, with an adjoining restroom, was used as an office by the school counselor.

On the second floor east of the counselor office stairway, two additional classrooms remain. The first and smaller classroom has wooden floors and a modern acoustic tile ceiling that has been added. The room has suffered extensive water damage. The other larger classroom is in much better condition with no visible water damage. This last classroom originally was two smaller classrooms, the wall between them having been removed at some time.

At the east end of the second-floor hallway, a modern metal door has been installed, leading to a metal fire escape, also added in recent times. Directly across the hallway (south) of the classroom is the upper level of the gymnasium. From here, the upper-story walkway circles the gymnasium below. Windows ring the walkway, providing light to the large, open room, which otherwise has no other source of outside light other than that entering through the windows in the double wooden doors exiting the east wall near the southeast corner of the building.

An alley and small asphalt courtyard separate the school from the metal shop, which is still owned and used by the Ritzville School District. The one-story structure was originally a smaller building housing the boiler furnace that heated the school with steam heat until its closure. (The boiler room comprises the east end of the present building). Salmon-colored brick and coping matching that on the school distinguish the flat-roofed structure, which was enlarged in 1935 and again ca. 1950 to serve as an agricultural education shop. The shop's historic integrity has been compromised by closure of numerous window openings with concrete, installation of modern metal roll-away doors, and addition of a corrugated metal shed-roofed awning on the rear of the building.