John Fox Slater Elementary School is an historic structure located in the

Truxton Circle Truxton Circle is a neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. Politically, it is located in Ward 5. Truxton Circle is bordered by New Jersey Avenue to the west; Florida Avenue to the north; New York Avenue to the south; and North Capitol Str ...

neighborhood in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The two-story brick building was designed by Edward Clark and completed in 1891. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2013.

History

At the time the building was constructed public education in the District of Columbia was segregated by race. Slater was one of several schools for African-Americans along First Street, NW between L and P Streets. The school for was built in 1891 and it was immediately at capacity. The school was named for

John Fox Slater John Fox Slater (March 4, 1815 – May 7, 1884) was an American philanthropist who supported and funded the education of freedmen after the Civil War. Early life and career Slater, the son of John Slater ( Samuel Slater's brother and partner), wa ...

(1829-1897), a white industrialist and philanthropist from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. The

John Mercer Langston School John Mercer Langston School is a historic structure located in the Truxton Circle neighborhood in Washington, D.C. The two-story brick building was designed by Appleton P. Clark, Jr. The structure was completed in 1902. It was listed on the N ...

was built next door to ease the overcrowded conditions at Slater. Both schools were operated independently until the late 1910s when the Slater principal, Anna E. Thompson, became principal of both schools. During this time the schools were referred to jointly as Slater-Langston. Slater was annexed to the Margaret Murray Washington Vocational School one block to the south in 1951. Langston continued as an elementary school and Slater returned for use as an elementary school in 1958. The building, however, became outdated, it deteriorated and it was still overcrowded. It was featured in a 1965 ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' article "Moldy Shaw Fed by Even Moldier Schools." The school was closed in 1975; the building became a daycare center, and it houses a social service agency.

Architecture

Slater Elementary School is a two-story, red brick building that was designed in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style. It housed eight classrooms, one for each grade level. The structure features projecting pavilions,

gable 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, towers, and molded brick string courses. Slater is identical to Jackson School in Georgetown that was built for white students in 1889. The only difference between the two buildings was the roof of the corner tower on Slater was covered in tin. The building was designed to fit in with the row houses in the neighborhood. It was designed by

Architect of the Capitol The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. It is an agency of the legislative branch of the federal government and is ...

Edward Clark.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, John Fox, Elementary School School buildings completed in 1891 School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Romanesque Revival architecture in Washington, D.C. African-American history of Washington, D.C. Truxton Circle