The Central School, at 10304 N. 83rd Avenue, is a historic

two-room school A two-room schoolhouse is a larger version of the one-room schoolhouse, with many of the same characteristics, providing the facility for primary and secondary education in a small community or rural area. While providing the same function as a ...

Peoria, Arizona Peoria ( ) is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the U.S. state of Arizona. Most of the city is located in Maricopa County, while a portion of it in the north is in Yavapai County. It is a major suburb of Phoenix. As of the 2020 cens ...

. It was built in 1906 for School District 11, in

Mission Revival architecture The Mission Revival style was part of an Architectural style, architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the Revivalism (architecture), revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspira ...

and

Spanish Revival architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. These ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982. Its two classrooms are each and are separated by an wide central hall. With

History

Peoria Central School was built as a two room schoolhouse in 1906 to replacing the city’s one-room frame schoolhouse from 1891. The school was expanded with three additional classroom buildings in 1910, which still sit adjacent to the school today, and an auditorium building in 1918, which has since been demolished. The school was used continuously over the next seven decades, being purchased by the city in 1978. The structure was listed on the

in 1982. It is the oldest standing schoolhouse in the Peoria School District. The building was occupied by the Peoria Arizona Historical Society Museum, also known as the Peoria Central School Museum, which was operated by the Peoria Arizona Historical Society. The city spent $19,000 securing artifacts of the PAHS and arranging for an inventory to be completed. The Society was dissolved in 2017, due to a dispute over control between two groups of members. In July 2019, it was stated that the two groups had refused arbitration, and that the PAHS's lease with the city was terminated. The museum was closed as a result. In the years that followed, the city has tried finding new uses for the building. In 2022, the city agreed to a deal that would allow developers to lease the building and proposed the video of the former school becoming a restaurant. In 2024,

Theater Works Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicat ...

used the school building as part of their limited engagement Old Town Ghost Tour. In December 2024, the city announced plans to evaluate the building for a rehabilitation project with the aim creating an arts and cultural center as part of a larger initiative to reinvigorate the downtown.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Maricopa County, Arizona Buildings and structures completed in 1906 Schools in Arizona Defunct museums in Arizona Two-room schoolhouses

History

See also

References