Emerson School is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. It is oldest extant school campus on the city's west side. with Emerson was established in 1893 when its first building was constructed on this property. It was the third school in West Waterloo. The original building was replaced when the present main building was completed in 1906. The annex was built ten years later to accommodate the school's increased enrollment. They are connected by a hyphen. The complex was designed by Waterloo architect John G. Ralston. The original building is a two-story brick structure on a raised limestone basement designed in the Neoclassical style. It features broken pediment

gable end A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s, stylized pilasters on the gable ends of the upper level, Palladian

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...

s, and corner pilaster

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

s. The annex was designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style. It is also a two-story brick structure. Typical of this style the annex features distinct horizontal divisions separated by

belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practition ...

and

stringcourses A course is a layer of the same unit running horizontally in a wall. It can also be defined as a continuous row of any masonry unit such as bricks, concrete masonry units (CMU), stone, shingles, tiles, etc. Coursed masonry construction arranges ...

. There is also a parapet frieze across the top. In 1973 the building became Expo Alternative High School. The building was closed in 1981, and it was later sold. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

References

1893 establishments in Iowa Neoclassical architecture in Iowa Renaissance Revival architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Waterloo, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Black Hawk County, Iowa School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Defunct schools in Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub