McKinley Elementary School is located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. 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 2002.

History

The Davenport Board of Education did an evaluation of its elementary school facilities in the 1920s as well as a study of the projected growth of the city and where that growth would take place. The projection was for the number of elementary-aged students to rise by almost three thousand students between 1930 and 1950, but no building plan based on these projections was prepared. with The elementary school population, however, already rose to that projection by 1936. The board decided at that time to close twelve of its old elementary school buildings and build six new ones. The plan would cost the school district $2.5 million with the federal government contributing 45% of the costs as part of the Public Works Administration. In addition to McKinley, the new elementary schools included Monroe,

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

, Madison, Washington, and Jefferson. The

floor plans In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensi ...

for all six school buildings were designed by the

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architectural firm of Smith & Childs, and they are all similar in layout. Local architects were employed to design the stylistic features for each building. The Davenport architectural firm of Kruse & Parrish was chosen for McKinley. The building was constructed by Tunnicliff Construction Co. Ground for the new building was broken in 1939 and classes were begun in 1940. Davenport's population continued to increase after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and in 1953 second story classrooms were built on the projecting ends of the building and a two-story addition that included classrooms and a cafeteria in the lower level was added to the northwest corner of the building. Two years later Hoover Elementary School was built to the west to elevate congestion at both McKinley and Lincoln. Enrollment continued to climb during the 1960s and started to decline in the 1970s. The decline has continued into the first decade of the 21st-century.

Architecture

McKinley Elementary School is a three-story structure set on a basement composed of steel-reinforced

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

. The exterior is covered in dark red brick that is accented with

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. A flat roof tops the building. The classrooms at both ends of the building project slightly from the main facade. There is a

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or ...

on the south side. The main entrance into the building is a tripartite door with a Gothic arch transom above. It is capped with heavy decorative stonework that features a carving of a book and beehive above the door. The library windows above the entrance are also surrounded by stone. The roof level features crenallated brick with a stone

coping Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social. Theories of coping Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...

. The windows are organized in groups of two, they have decorative stone lintels and they are connected to a stone belt-course. The 1953 addition was built using the same brick and stone belt-course as the original building. The library, gymnasium, auditorium, science, art, and vocal music rooms are located in the center of the building. Also in the center of the building is a separate community room for use by local citizens. The classrooms are separated from these common areas. A

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

room with its own exterior entrance is located on the south side of the building. The gymnasium, auditorium, and the community room are opposite the main entrance and the school office on the first floor. The library is located above the entrance on the second floor. The science, art, and music rooms are located above the gymnasium, auditorium, and the community room on the third floor. They and their storage rooms are the only rooms on that floor.

References

External links

School Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckinley Elementary School (Davenport, Iowa) School buildings completed in 1940 School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Schools in Davenport, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa Public Works Administration in Iowa Collegiate Gothic architecture in Iowa Elementary schools in Iowa

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links