The Red Brick School is a public school built in 1922 on the north edge of downtown

Oregon, Wisconsin Oregon is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,179 at the 2020 census. A suburb south of Madison, it is part of the Madison metropolitan area. The village is located mostly within the Town of Oregon. His ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1998 it was added to 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 ...

History

The Red Brick School was built in 1922, at a cost of about $70,000 for both construction and furnishings. It opened that fall to 106 students, four teachers, and a principal. The building served as the local high school and

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 Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

. The building was designed by Madison architect Edward Tough in late

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, evident in its tall, narrow windows and masonry. The walls of the original section were load-bearing clay tile clad in red brick, sitting on a poured concrete foundation. With It had hardwood floors in all classrooms and

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...

floors in the stairs and hallways, accented with marble tile borders. The school was state-of-the-art for its time, with a regulation size (for 1922)

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

court, cafeteria, and stage on the lowest level. The upper level had skylights in the rooms. The building served as a high school until 1962. As the

baby boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of births. This demography, demographic phenomenon is usually an ascribed characteristic within the population of a specific nationality, nation or culture. Baby booms are caused by various ...

progressed, the building became too overcrowded, housing up to 300 students. A new high school was constructed on the village's east side. At this time, the building was saved from the wrecking ball, underwent some minor renovations, and was later used as part of the elementary school. In 1993, a new middle school opened and classes that were in Red Brick were relocated to parts of the previous middle school that had recently been vacated. The building slipped into a state of disrepair beginning in 1993. It was being used only for storage, and important problems, such as roof leaks, went unnoticed. Red Brick was added to the

in 1998 by concerned residents who felt the building was in danger of destruction. In the 2000s, interest in redeveloping the building was sparked. Options varying from a community center, to senior apartments were discussed. In the end, the building was sold to the Gorman Company for $29,000. After a multimillion-dollar renovation, the building's doors were opened once again in 2008.

References

External links

* http://www.gormanusa.com/ {{National Register of Historic Places School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Gothic Revival architecture in Wisconsin School buildings completed in 1922 Buildings and structures in Dane County, Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Dane County, Wisconsin 1922 establishments in Wisconsin