English Avenue School, 627 English Avenue Northwest, Atlanta

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-298. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

627 English Avenue NW, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. West side of English Avenue NW, bounded by Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW to the north, James P Brawley Drive NW to the east, and Pelham Street NW to the south. This building is located at latitude longitude This point was obtained April 26, using Google Earth There is no restriction on its release to the public. Present Owner/ Occupant: Westside Development Partners, Keven R. Patterson and Mable Able Thomas. The building is currently unoccupied.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-298. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Despite the initial programmatic charge of this public-school building to serve white residents of the English Avenue neighborhood, from its inception the school has been intrinsically connected to African American history. Its namesake, James W. English, a luminary of the Atlanta elite, never owned an antebellum enslaved person. 1 However, by two years prior 0F to the commencement of the school s design, English had built his personal fortune on the backs of free labor from thousands of enslavement Black men through the convict leasing system.

2 The 1F generational wealth that was passed on to his eldest son enabled the purchase and development of the English Avenue neighborhood that would be excluded to African Americans until the when city, state, and federal policy began funneling the Black community to the west side of Atlanta through Jim Crow laws, new highway systems, and public housing programs. 3 From 2F forward, the school was a tool for the Atlanta Board of Education to prolong its integration process by converting it into 1 Douglas Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, (New York: Anchor Books, eBook edition, 2 Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name, 3 Karen Ferguson, Black Politics in New Deal Atlanta.

John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, chp ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 2) an equalization school. Likewise, its bricks and classrooms were the casualties of segregationist forces using dynamite to combat Civil Rights and the racial integration within the educational system. Throughout its history, this large elementary school has been a community center to uplift its residents. It has witnessed many moments and movements in history including women s suffrage, child labor laws, and the pursuit of racial justice.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-298. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The following Master of Architecture students from Georgia Institute of Technology s School of Architecture, College of Design were involved in the preparation of the documentation, measured drawings, photographs, and historical report: Sydnee N. Henry, Patricia J. Rangel, Breanna M. Rhoden, and Christopher R. Tromp. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History 1. Date of erection: The school began construction in and was completed and open to students in 2. Architect(s): Edwards & Walter, architecture firm (William A. Edwards and Frank C. Walter), original building. Edwards & Walter were a partnership from Founded in Columbia, South Carolina, the pair moved to Atlanta in and had offices in the Candler Building.

Several of their joint designs are listed on the National Register including the English Avenue School. Funded by a Georgia State bond, Anthony Ten Eyck Brown, architect, supervised and appointed Daniell & Beutell architectural firm (Sydney S. Daniell and Russell L. Beutell), from to design and construct two additional wings running north and south on the school. Brown and his team s duties included developing a plan for the rating and appointment of local architecture firms, carrying out recommendations from the educational engineers, reviewing preliminary design proposals for each project, and tracking each site s construction. 4 3F 4 Atlanta Preservation Center.

English Avenue School, National Register of Historic Places Documentation Form English Avenue School (Atlanta: Atlanta Preservation Center, 26. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 3) 3. Original and subsequent owners, occupants, uses: Original owner was Atlanta Public Schools then Greater Vine City Opportunities Program Inc followed by Westside Development Partners, LLC (2017-Present). Original use was as a public school for white children exclusively in the City of Atlanta from Then it was a public school for African American children exclusively in the City of Atlanta from After Atlanta Public Schools racially integrated, EAS remained a majority Black school from when it closed its doors. The building is currently unoccupied but is available for filming. 4.

Builder, contractor, suppliers: Building Committee of the Atlanta Board of Education: William L. McCalley, Jr. the southeastern manager of National Surety Corporation, served as a commissioner on the Atlanta Board of Education in various capacities; in he was chair of the Finance and Building Committee. Commissioners A.C. Melxell and Murphy also served on the committee. 5 The cornerstone laid on the 4F northwest corner of the building names James D. Hamrick of Carrollton, GA as Grandmaster of the Georgia Masonic Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons. 5.

Original plans and construction: The original, three-story brick and limestone building was centrally located on the block, with Fox Street to the north, Chestnut Street to the east, Pelham Street to the south, and English Avenue to the west. Built in the English Tutor Revival style, the main entrance was centralized along the English Avenue face and the building had double-loaded corridors and switchback stair halls. 6 5F 6. Alterations and additions: In the Chestnut Annex was built to accommodate the growing number of students moving into the neighborhood. This annex sat east of the main building and was a three- story brick building.

It was demolished circa Under the supervision of architect Anthony Ten Eyck Brown, in Daniell & Beutell Architects were appointed to design and construct two matching wings to the north and south of the original structure to blend with the English Tutor Revival style of the building. The wings were completed and available to the school in1923. In Fox Street was 5 Mr. and Burton Give Dinner at English Avenue, Atlanta Constitution, December 18, E7. 6 Public Elementary and Secondary Schools in GA, National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form (Atlanta: Ray & Associates, October ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 4) closed to expand the boundary of the campus to what is now Donald Lee Holloway NW as its northern perimeter.

In a corridor was built connecting the east entrance of the main school to the Chestnut Annex. The corridor has been demolished, the date for which is unknown. B. Historical Context In James W. English, purchased the land surrounding where the English Avenue School (EAS) would eventually sit and began a development project erecting homes for the growing white populations who had moved to Atlanta from rural areas to get jobs in the new mills and factories in the city s west side. 7 The mills were a primary employer of the neighborhood residents 6F until The neighborhood, the school s address, and the school itself would be named after the developer s father, James W. English, a well- known public city figure at that time.

While the junior English was the General Manger of the Chattahoochee Brick Company, his father was its President. Orphaned as a teenager in New Orleans, English, Sr. became an Atlanta Mayor, city council member, school board member, commissioner of the police department, co-director of International Expositions, and Founder and Chairman of the Fourth National Bank. English Sr. s wealth and prosperity in industry had also been afforded by his companies use of free labor by leased convicts, nearly all of whom were Black, prior to when legislation was passed to stop such practices. The investigations found that many of the felony charges that imprisoned these men were for minor misdemeanors like speaking too loud in front of a white woman or for vagrancy. 8 English, Sr.

s 7F testimony at the legislative commission in affirmed how Chattahoochee Brick Company forced laborers to their absolute physical limits to extract modern levels of production from archaic manufacturing techniques of a distant era. 9 The bricks produced by the Chattahoochee Brick Company were 8F sold throughout the southern states and lined the streets of Atlanta, gracing countless important public buildings within the city. Originally constructed in to replace the old wood Western Heights Elementary School structure, located at what is now 627 English Avenue NW, 7 Atlantic Preservation Center, English Avenue School, 36.

8 Smithsonian Slavery by Another Name: The Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II March 14, 9 Blackmon, Slavery by Another Name, ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 5) was constructed at a moment in time when the City of Atlanta was annexing sections of Fulton County and assessing the needs for Atlanta Public Schools (APS) to expand and serve the students within their district. The three-story brick structure designed by William Edwards and Frank Walter would accommodate the growing number of working-class white families flocking to this area of the city, now known as the English Avenue Neighborhood.

Edwards and Walter ceased their partnership the year of the design process, but the firm had been responsible for numerous public-school buildings across the state as well as churches, courthouses, and college campuses. 10 EAS is 9F one of at least twenty-five buildings by William Edwards that has earned National Registry status. The new building s structure and stronger materials were meant to provide a more accommodating and fire-proof option for students education and safety. Within ten years of opening the new school on English Avenue, the witnessed the demand of the burgeoning elementary school population as a result of the city s continued growth and the new compulsory education and local and federal child labor laws.

11 The APS system enlisted a supervising 10F architect, Anthony Ten Eyck Brown, to oversee several school projects simultaneously developing in the city afforded from the bond issued by the State of Georgia. 12 Brown appointed Sydney Daniell and Russell Beutell to 11F design and build two additional wings, along the north and south of the original EAS, to seamlessly meld with the English Tutor Revival style of the fa ade. Brown was chosen for his experience in designing and supervising the construction of important public buildings. 13 Daniell & Beutell 12F also had a reputation of designing public buildings and private residences throughout Georgia.

With the addition of the two, three-story brick wings, the school reopened its doors in to white students; only a year prior, the school was forced to turn away 200 students due to lack of space. 14 A 13F kindergarten, one of the first in the city, was also added to the facility. During the late and throughout the local city government was enacting stricter Jim Crow laws restricting the movement and habitation of African Americans within the City of Atlanta to the west side. Federal public housing programs and new state highway systems also influenced an influx of displacement and movement within the Black community to this specific 10 John E Wells and Robert Dalton, The South Carolina Architects, (Richmond, VA: New South Architectural Press, 11 Jamil S. Zainaldin and John C.

Inscoe, Progressive Era, New Georgia Encyclopedia, 12 David Clifton Ramsey, Schools Constructed After the First Bond Issue and Under the Supervision of A. Ten Eyck Brown, 13 Robert M. Craig, A. Ten Eyck Brown New Georgia Encyclopedia, December 7, Accessed April 27, 14 Mr. and Burton Give Dinner at English Avenue, Atlanta Constitution, December 8, E7. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 6) region.

According to Karen Ferguson, Elite white interest used the Public Works Administration and the subsequent prewar programs of the U.S Housing Authority to initiate slum clearance in four black neighborhoods in the northern and central sector of the city, replacing them with public housing for whites, thus forcing thousands of African Americans to join a migration of black Atlantans to the west side of the city, where city officials hoped to contain the black population. 15 Hence, by the demographics of the English Avenue 14F Neighborhood had changed dramatically.

Since the white enrollment at the school had dropped sixty percent and by while white enrollment was significantly low, over 600 school-aged Black students living within the neighborhood travelled well outside their local community to attend school. 16 15F The school s playground was forbidden to African American children who lived nearby. Precipitating the Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling that declared racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional because separate educational facilities were inherently unequal, APS s Board of Education in chose to convert the then Lula L. Kingsbery School, named in after its founding white principal who tenured for thirty-seven years, to an equalization school.

17 This meant that APS could prolong its integrating 16F schools if it proved to the federal government, through cases like this, that educational buildings of equal stature were provided to Black children and families. So, after much petitioning from residents, educators, and political advocates in June of the Atlanta Board of Education voted to convert Kingsbery School to an all-Black equalization school renamed the English Avenue School. After the conversion to the equalization school, EAS won a certain amount of notoriety when one of its seven-year-old pupils competed in as the only African American on the Ted Mack s The Original Amateur Hour TV show. Ms.

Gladys Knight went on to win the show s contest, be one of the program s greatest success stories, and launch a career that would lead her to become known as the Empress of Soul. 18 More success within the community 17F followed as Dr. Rufus Clement, President of Atlanta University, was elected the first African American in a citywide race where white voters constituted a clear majority. The Brown decision in overruling Plessy v. Ferguson, prompted 15 Ferguson. Black Politics in New Deal Atlanta, 16 Melvin W. Ecke, From Ivy Street to Kennedy Center: Centennial History of the Atlanta Public School System (Atlanta: Atlanta Board of Education, 17 Southern Education Foundation, 150-Year Timeline, Our History, Accessed April 26, are-2/timeline/.

18 OWN, The Kind Act That Sticks with Gladys Knight After 66 Years | Oprah s Master Class | OWN, September 21, Accessed April 26, ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 7) Georgia s US Senator, Walter George, to introduce the Southern Manifesto in denouncing Brown and pledging to resist and refuse to enforce its ruling. 19 He had the support of the majority of his southern colleagues in 18F Congress, and hence in violence aimed at preventing school desegregation begins to mount across the South. 20 Atlanta was not immune. 19F After a class-action lawsuit by Black parents, the US District Court decided that Atlanta s school system was in breach of Brown.

21 20F Once a gathering place to pray for peaceful anti-segregation protesters heading to rallies downtown, in the early hours of December EAS became a bomb site. Dynamite detonated by the Pelham Street entrance of the building, so that chunks of pavement hurtled airborne, landing on the roofs of nearby homes. 22 Mayor Hartsfield s claim that Atlanta was too busy 21F to hate, contradicted itself. National attention embarrassed city officials whose conciliatory tone had long failed to stop racially motivated bombings. 23 22F Therefore the praise of President John F. Kennedy was welcomed when Atlanta was the first to peacefully integrate ten African American students, out of the 134 that applied, into four APS high schools the following year.

24 23F Throughout its history, regardless of the race of its residents, the school building has served as a community center. In the the newspaper reported on the communal gardens built on the school campus, and about the community and daddies meetings held at the school to promote neighborhood improvements. It was also the site of one mayoral rally on behalf of William Hartsfield. 25 Regardless of the neighborhood s demographics, it 24F was a polling place for local, state, and national elections. During the academic honor societies were established that garnered the support and rewards of elders in the community by recognizing the distinguishable red beanie caps that marked a student s excellence when they walked down the street. 26 In EAS hosted and saw the U.S.

Secretary of Education, William 25F Bennett, teach Margaret Jackson s third grade classroom. Traveling to England in then Mayor Kasim Reed took up the topic of the revitalization of English Avenue and Vine City when hosted by the Prince of Wales and his 19 Southern Education Foundation, 150-Year Timeline. 20 Southern Education Foundation, 150-Year Timeline. 21 Max Blau and Todd Michney, Terror in the City Too Busy to Hate: How the English Avenue School Bombing Challenged Atlanta s Popularity of Racial Progress, Atlanta Studies, December 12, Accessed April 24, 22 Blau and Michney, Terror in the City Too Busy to Hate. 23 Blau and Michney, Terror in the City Too Busy to Hate. 24 Raleigh Bryans 10 Negroes Approved for 4 White Schools, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, June 4, 1.

25 English Avenue Plants Gardens and School Yard, Atlanta Constitution, April 10, 5K; English Avenue Daddies Meeting, Atlanta Constitution, April 10, 4K. 26 Blau and Michney, Terror in the City Too Busy to Hate. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 8) charitable foundation focused on sustainable urban planning. 27 The building 26F has witnessed significant moments and movements in national history from women s suffrage to child labor laws, to strides towards racial justice, and sustainability issues. With a legacy as a community-based school, when APS sold the building to the Greater Vine City Opportunities Program (GVCOP) Inc.

in its leader and EAS alumni, former Georgia State Representative Able Mable Thomas, had a clear vision of what this campus meant and represented for the residing community. As stated in a pamphlet, her goal was to restore [the building] and turn it into a one-stop-shop facility to help people and provide jobs and economic stability. 28 Over the last ten years, she initiated capital 27F campaigns to restore the structure, worked with designers and developers to procure cost and condition assessment reports, and laid out a clear vision of all the programs and services that the community wants and needs as well as briefly offering a small healthcare clinic to the neighborhood. In GVCOP conveyed the property to Westside Development Partners, under the leadership of developer, Keven R.

Patterson. Over the course of the next four years building renovations stalled due to delayed permits, deed agreements, and co-owner relations. Patterson enlisted Lord Aeck Sargent and Winter Construction to assist with schematic designs and updated conditions assessments. Upon sale by APS in the building s future has been committed to serving the community. Its various partnerships and ventures have had boundaries in place to assure its legacy is maintained to uplift the community and bring greater attention to the history the structure holds. During this most recent era, the site has been used for some filming. Its credits include Atlanta-based rappers Future and Young Thug s music video All da Smoke, released in from their collaborative commercial mixtape Super Slimey.

In addition, filming wrapped in on the campus for the upcoming science fiction comedy film titled, They Cloned Tyrone, directed by Juel Taylor. In April of the owners failed to obtain a special permit to rezone the school as a community center due to specific provisions that were in the application. However, by June the Atlanta City Council passed a permit, by a vote of to allow the restoration and redevelopment of one of the 27 Trevor Williams, Mayor Meets with Prince of Wales on Urban Planning, Global Atlanta. November 16, Accessed April 26, 28 Greater Vine City Opportunity Program Inc. The English Avenue Community Campus Project Pamphlet, Atlanta: Atlanta Preservation Center, ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 9) oldest school buildings in Atlanta.

29 The partners in the agreement continue 28F to be at odds and are also awaiting a written deed agreement with Atlanta Public Schools to finalize movement forward. As reported by to Capelouto, Westside Development Partners plan to spend $30 million on restoring the building for a community center that would have offices, space for private events and a roof terrace, according to plans filed with the city. It would also provide workforce development services and training. 30 The 29F opposing votes on council were quoted in standing in solidarity with residents that have expressed concerns particularly about the event venue portion of the plan when they believe what is needed is more services to help with rent assistance and childcare.

In the summer of Patterson brought his team together to attempt to salvage the deteriorating fa ade due to the gaping hole in the roof. Much of the original structure has collapsed, but the exterior walls still have an opportunity to salvaged and strengthened. PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement 1. Architectural character: Both the original and additions of English Avenue School are English Tudor Revival style. In larger structures, it had the appearance of a large English manor. 31 In the 30F United States, the style became popular between and and paid homage to the Tudor era of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England.

But, as Burch states, because the architecture originated in colder climates, it s rare to find one with any sort of front porch, which adds to the formal curb appeal. 32 Therefore it was not a common type 31F of architecture in the hot and humid southeast. However, for the aspiring English Avenue neighborhood and its founders, the traditional style which was typically found in areas that were considered affluent city suburbs, 33 the intent James English, Jr had when developing the 32F school fit appropriately. The school building was considered a typical urban school type with double loaded corridors and stair-halls on either end.

In a three- 29 JD Capelouto, Council Oks Historic School s Renovation, Despite Concerns, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 22, 30 JD Capelouto, Council Oks Historic School s Renovation, Despite Concerns, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 22, 31 Maggie Burch What is a Tudor Style House? Southern Living. Accessed June 28, 32 Burch, What is a Tudor Style House? 33 Burch, What is a Tudor Style House? ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 10) story brick annex was built east of the main building, and a corridor joining the two structures added in In three-story wings were added to the north and south ends of the original building, creating a U-shaped plan. 34 The additions continued the materials, 33F design, and decorative elements of the original.

The additions are English Tudor Revival as well. They generally continued the materials, design, and decorative elements of the original. The architects removed the original projecting towers and relocated them on the new north and south entrances. 2. Condition of fabric: The core of the original building has deteriorated tremendously since the school s closure in When it was sold to Greater Vine City Opportunities Program in asbestos and lead were identified shortly after the sale in a report by the MEDTEC Engineering and Consulting Team in an environmental site assessment. By after the conveying of the property to Westside Development Partners, a large opening existed within the southwestern bay of the original structure.

This gaping hole had continuous exposure to the elements and resulted in a great deal of water entering the building. Wooden joist beams and flooring on the first and second floor have collapsed completely, and it is unsafe to access this area of the building. The same year, a condition assessment report by Haight Davis & Associates indicated that the steel beams that connected the to the structure, where evaluated, experienced excessive amount of surface rusting.

35 Then in the Lord Aeck Sargent s condition s 34F assessment report it stated that leaks in the roof have led to catastrophic failure to most of the wood framed portions of the building including the roof, floors, walls, and ceilings, 36 however, enough of the 35F character-defining features remain to provide direction for replication and in-kind replacement. 37 36F Regarding the building envelope, Haight Davis and Associates, Inc. detected in that bricks around the top of the chimneys had fallen away. They also witnessed that exterior brick surface had been affected by water draining from the roof. Davis reported that Severe water stains are present, primarily around roof scuppers and downspouts.

In some locations, water is entering into the cavity of the brick wythes and is 34 APC, National Registry Nomination, 5. 35 Haight Davis & Associates, Inc. Structural Evaluation- English Avenue Elementary School, 627 English Avenue Atlanta, GA May 30, 4. 36 Lord Aeck Sargent (LAS)|A Katerra Company, Condition Assessment, English Avenue School Atlanta, GA, January 7. 37 LAS, Condition Assessment, 7. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 11) leaching out through the brick mortar. 38 In the summer of 37F vegetation was growing out of all four elevations of the building and can be seen in some of the interior parts of the structural wall. In addition, bricks and parapet stone caps have been found on the grounds from the roof areas around the auditorium.

On the east fa ade, in the newer shed in the rear, tree growth has permeated between the CMU and brick fa ade leaving a cascade of terracotta blocks in its wake that in photos three years earlier were merely cracks. Drone footage in June of indicate four trees that are growing on top of the main roof as well as new tears penetrating the roof s integrity in comparison to the Repro Production images. B. Description of Exterior: 1. Overall dimensions: The English Avenue School (EAS) is situated on a 3.2-acre property comprising most of a city block bounded by four streets and a concrete sidewalk. The school property includes the extant school building, the sidewalk, and asphalt-paved parking lot, and asphalt paved play area, and green space.

39 The west elevation runs 38F 287 wide from north to south entrances, the north elevation is 141 wide, and the south elevation, including the auditorium is 167 long. 40 39F The block is bounded by Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW to the north, east by James P. Brawley Drive NW, south by Pelham Street NW, and west by English Avenue NW. The building is situated north/south, with the main entrance facing west toward English Avenue NW, and the top of the U-shape facing east. The building features a partially underground basement level and two upper stories. 41 The parapet roof 40F stands over thirty-four feet above the first floor. 42 According to MACTEC 41F Engineering Consulting, Inc. the building is approximately square feet. 2.

Foundations: According to the Lord Aeck Sargent Condition s Assessment, the foundations and footing were not accessible for observation. Based on the construction types of the central mass and later additions, it is assumed that the central building s load bearing perimeter and interior walls are supported by a brick 38 Haight Davis, Structural Evaluation, 5. 39 APC, National Registry Nomination, 5. 40 APC, National Registry Nomination, 5. 41 APC, National Registry Nomination, 5. 42 Lord Aeck Sargent (LAS)|A Katerra Company, Architectural Drawings-Elevations, January ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 12) foundation with spread footings and that the later concrete frame additions have concrete foundations supporting columns. 43 42F 3.

Walls: The exterior fa ades, on both the original building and the auditorium are composed of three wythes of common red brick and the wings of a combination of common red brick and structural clay tile. 44 LAS reports, the wings feature brick at the exterior face 43F and around openings and hollow clay tile everywhere else. The base of the exterior walls of the central mass and two wings projects an additional wythe at the first-floor level. 45 44F The brick patterns are made up of five-courses of running bond between single courses of alternating headers and stretchers. 46 From 45F the west elevation a distinguishable difference can be seen between the thickness of the ground floor (18 ) as compared to the first and second floors (12 ).

47 The Atlanta Preservation Center s National Registry 46F Nomination describes the exterior character-defining features to include straight crenelated as well as raked parapets, window hood moulds with label stops, projecting pavilions with recessed entryways, limestone segmental arches and quoin surrounds, and decorative elements such as an owl figure, shields, shields-and-scrolls, and diamond bosses. 48 47F Encircling the entire building, two soldier courses run beneath the first- floor windows. The other is seen beneath the limestone block water table, which also wraps the building for the exception of the east fa ade where the south chimney was removed and the south fa ade where the first floor is at grade.

49 Above the second story window, the pattern 48F alternates between soldiers and rowlocks in a decorative brick belt. According to the architectural firm, The exterior masonry walls also include terra cotta elements, multi-unit windowsills, a string course drip molding over the soldier bricks of the projecting base, coping and crenelation, label molding over windows above entries, and several 43 LAS, Condition Assessment, 10. 44 LAS, Condition Assessment, 12. 45 LAS, Condition Assessment, 12. 46 APC, National Registry Nomination, 4. 47 APC, National Registry Nomination, 5. 48 APC, National Registry Nomination, 4. 49 APC, National Registry Nomination, 6. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No.

GA-298 (page 13) decorative features set into the brick walls, including shield and scrolls, an owl, bosses, and diamonds. 50 49F Around different parts of the building non-historic non-matching red brick has been used to fill in or cover up openings. For example, a portion of the wall on the east side of the north elevation at the basement level. There are also several bricked in wall vents on the west elevation, a former doorway on the north elevation of the south wing, and former windows on the east elevation that adorns modern bright red bricks. 51 50F 4. Structural System, Framing: The Lord Aeck Sargent report describes the center mass as composed of load-bearing multi-wythe brick walls with wood joists spanning between and providing the structure for floors.

The roof framing is a low-slope, wood, post and rafter system with a wood board deck. 52 In the wings, the concrete foundation 51F is framed with reinforced concrete columns and beams with one way ribbed concrete floors and roof slabs. 53 The walls on the other hand are 52F hollow clay tile with brick veneer. 54 53F Within the auditorium, the walls are load-bearing multi-wythe bricks supported by steel scissor or parallel bar roof trusses (or similar design to support a two-slope suspended ceiling). The auditorium floor is a wood framed over a dirt crawl space. 55 54F 5. Porches, Stoops, Balconies, Porticos, Bulkheads: The front entrance along English Avenue NW, sports a small stoop in front of the entrance, covered by a small pediment topped by a decorative owl. 6.

Chimneys: There appears to have been four chimneys. On the north fa ade, a brick chimney topped with limestone coping extends above the recessed section. 56 At some point the chimney on the south fa ade 55F was removed. And on the east fa ade, a tall one rises with a crenelated parapet from north of the east entrance door. Bricks have fallen from its surface revealing a deeper brick foundation. There is also a ghost mark 50 LAS, Condition Assessment, 12. 51 LAS, Condition Assessment, 12. 52 LAS, Condition Assessment, 10. 53 LAS, Condition Assessment, 10. 54 APC, National Registry Nomination, 5. 55 LAS, Condition Assessment, 10. 56 APC, National Registry Nomination, 7. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No.

GA-298 (page 14) of another chimney that once projected from the fa ade south of the east entrance door. 57 56F 7. Openings: a. Doorways and doors: Each fa ade has a main entrance that originally had double doors and were protected by a vestibule, with arched transom windows in the north, south, and west entrances, but are now all covered with plywood. 58 The 57F auditorium has an additional double door on its northern wall. Four exterior doors also lead directly to rooms in the basement, all located on the east side of the building. One of these doors is a story below the basement floor and accesses the boiler room floor. There is evidence of two additional exterior doors that have been bricked in.

On the west fa ade there is an additional set of doors north of the main entrance that led to the basement, but that has been locked and nailed shut. The main entrance of the building is centered on the west fa ade facing English Avenue NW. The front doors center on a slightly projecting pavilion with a recessed entry featuring a cast stone segmentally arched entryway capped by a label-moulded frieze panel ornamented by a central shield. This element is flanked by a small niche articulated with limestone quoining. The parapet features crenelation and centers on a raked pediment with a cast stone owl at its apex. 60 Behind the owl, above the parapet a 59F pair of expressed buttresses with limestone caps flank the windowsill of the triple window composition. 61 60F b.

Windows and shutters: The LAS report concluded that all the windows located in the section of the building are wood and windows located at the section, including in the auditorium, are steel. 62 However all the windows had exterior 61F limestone block sills. 63 62F 57 APC, National Registry Nomination, 7. 58 LAS, Condition Assessment, 19. 59 LAS, Condition Assessment, 19. 60 APC, National Registry Nomination, 6. 61 APC, National Registry Nomination, 6. 62 LAS, Condition Assessment, 17. 63 APC, National Registry Nomination, 9. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 15) According to LAS, there are no surviving wood sash and few remaining wood frames. Two examples of surviving wood frames are divided into six parts with three 1/3 height openings above three 2/3 height openings.

The mullions are relatively large. There are also extant frames of three-part arched transom windows over the east and west entries. 64 63F In the classrooms, there are two versions of three-part steel windows that are either three or two lights wide. The larger are composed of six-light awning sash, three fixed lights, and another six-light awning sash. The smaller are similar but with a four: two: four composition. There are also smaller windows on the north and south walls that are composed of two parts: four fixed lights over a four-light awning sash. 65 64F Though currently boarded up, the auditorium has large six-part arched steel windows. The upper portion of the window has three parts, each with four fixed lights.

The lower portion is composed of three parts each with six fixed lights over four-light awning sashes on the left and right and [an arrangement of] four fixed lights in the center. A similarly composed arched transom is over the north entry door to the auditorium, composed of the three- part upper portion above three parts each with two fixed lights. 66 65F 8. Roof: a. Shape, covering: There are three distinct roof types over this structure: the central mass, the wings, and the auditorium. The section has a low slope wood joist roof framing, with built up asphalt roofing over a wood board decking. The roof slopes towards exterior walls, where scuppers are in a low masonry parapet. This parapet surrounds the roof and has terracotta coping.

67 66F In contrast the section, according to LAS, has a concrete roof structure, with built up asphalt roofing. 68 Both these roofs 67F slope toward the exterior walls where the drainage systems are in place. Where the central mass abuts the additions, the 64 LAS, Condition Assessment, 17. 65 LAS, Condition Assessment, 17. 66 LAS, Condition Assessment, 17. 67 LAS, Condition Assessment, 13. 68 LAS, Condition Assessment, 13. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 16) original parapet remains and is covered with roofing material. 69 68F Of the roofing that is still intact, it is made up of a built up bituminous material. 70 Records from the Atlanta Preservation 69F Center indicate that may have been the last time the building was entirely re-roofed.

71 70F Finally, the auditorium has a metal standing seam gable roof, with low parapet walls and a gypsum deck 72 and is supported by steel 71F trusses. b. Cornice, Eaves: At the top edge of the roof line is a narrow cornice with a crenelated parapet. It runs the entire perimeter of the structure and the tops all the towers at each entrance. c. Dormers, Cupolas, Towers: On both the north and south fa ade stand a three-story crenelating tower with a projecting entry pavilion that replaced the original towers from the structure and protect the double door entrances.

73 72F On the south facade, the red brick tower is ornamented with limestone detailing, including: a segmentally arched entryway whose corner quoins have a batted finish; label-mould capping the vestibule and surrounding the second-floor window; and a shield and scroll centered on the wall above. The parapet wall is crenelated, also accented with limestone finials. 74 73F C. Description of Interior 1. Floor Plans: GROUND Floor: The single, north-south double-loaded corridor opens onto classrooms, the kitchen, the lunchroom (which sold food at cost), the electrical room, vestibules, bathrooms, the custodians office, and various storage rooms, including the cloakroom associated with original classrooms.

The regular classrooms were designed as standard units having five windows and a seating capacity of forty-five students. 75 74F 69 LAS, Condition Assessment, 13. 70 LAS, Condition Assessment, 13. 71 APC, National Registry Nomination, 5. 72 LAS, Condition Assessment, 13. 73 APC, National Registry Nomination, 7. 74 APC, National Registry Nomination, 8. 75 APC, National Registry Nomination, 9. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 17) FIRST Floor: This floor has a main north-south double-loaded corridor, and a single-loaded corridor on the north end.

The rooms include classrooms- all the classrooms have vestibules, and all the classrooms have cloakrooms, the library, teacher s lounge, boys and girls bathrooms, the medical room/clinic (where physicians would hold regular clinics to examine all children at no cost), the principal s and vice principal s offices, storage rooms, and other miscellaneous offices. The auditorium/gymnasium is the south wing of this floor. When built in it included a stage and shower baths for boys and girls. By the shower baths had been converted into a band room and a storage room. 76 75F SECOND Floor: The second floor has a main north-south double-loaded corridor, and a single-loaded corridor on the north end. This floor is mostly classrooms- thirteen- more than the other two floors combined.

The other rooms include cloakrooms- one associated with each classroom (labeled storage in the floor plans), bathrooms, custodian storage, and vestibules. 77 76F 2. Flooring: Five different materials make up the floor finishes: terrazzo, tiles, 9x9 tiles, hardwood, and concrete. In the wings hallways and stair, terrazzo covers the floors. Where it is present there are covered transitions to a 6-inch terrazzo base. The terrazzo is two-toned, with a nine-inch border in red and the field in beige. 78 The rest of the first and second level consists of tongue and 77F groove wood boards on wood sub-floor and are covered in a variety of non-historic finishes, including resilient tile are 9x9 tiles that are likely vinyl-asbestos (VAT). Many of the tiles cover 9x9 tiles.

79 78F Down in the basement, the concrete slab on grade is exposed. In rooms ad corridors with concrete floors, there is also a six-inch concrete base. 80 Finally in the auditorium, a tongue and groove wood floor is 79F covered in plywood and tiles. The raised stage of the auditorium is one of the few locations where there is an intact, exposed tongue and groove wood floor. 81 80F 3. Wall and Ceiling Finish: Based on the LAS report, historic flat plaster is the primary wall finish throughout the building. Where there are 76 APC, National Registry Nomination, 9. 77 APC, National Registry Nomination, 9. 78 LAS, Condition Assessment, 16. 79 LAS, Condition Assessment, 16. 80 LAS, Condition Assessment, 16. 81 LAS, Condition Assessment, 16. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No.

GA-298 (page 18) masonry walls, the plaster is directly adhered; where the walls are wood framed, wood lath is used. Where there are dados for chalk boards, the plaster appears to have been left unfinished. Columns between windows are also furred out and finished in plaster. In the portion these columns are tapered and in the wings they are heavily chamfered. 82 In the section the interior partition walls as well as 81F mechanical niches are wood framed. Whereas the interior walls in the wings are composed of clay tiles. 83 82F In contrast all the restroom floors and a former locker room, as well as the kitchen in the basement have white subway tile wainscoting, and plaster above. The two west-facing rooms on the first floor that flank the west entrance stair have crown molding.

84 Within the auditorium, a 83F decorative plaster proscenium arch with Gothic features are evident. 85 84F LAS discovered that concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls have been constructed in bathrooms to provide additional chases for plumbing. In some areas, historic marble panels are visible where the CMU has been damaged. 86 85F Flat plaster ceilings are found throughout the building. In the portion, the plaster is adhered to wood lath attached to the floor structure and in the portion the plaster is adhered to expanded metal lath attached to a metal grid that is affixed to the floor structure. Ceilings on the third floor are suspended four to five feet from the roof structure.

87 In addition a non-historic suspended two-foot by two-foot 86F grid ceiling system is found throughout the building. In the auditorium, however, the ceiling is composed of a four-foot by four-foot metal channel grid ceiling with acoustical ceiling tiles. 88 87F 4. Openings: a. Doorways and doors: Within the building three types of doors were detected: two historic configurations and one non-historic prototype. The first of the historic types are three side by side lights in the top third of the door above two side by side panels, 89 88F or the other being, one large light above two side by side 82 LAS, Condition Assessment, 15. 83 LAS, Condition Assessment, 15. 84 LAS, Condition Assessment, 15. 85 LAS, Condition Assessment, 15. 86 LAS, Condition Assessment, 15.

87 LAS, Condition Assessment, 16. 88 LAS, Condition Assessment, 16. 89 LAS, Condition Assessment, 19. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 19) panels. 90 The non-historic types were flush panel doors. However, 89F most doors are missing from the building. The door frames are steel, with most classroom doors having a single light transom above. 91 Most are boarded up as nearly all the transom sashes 90F are missing. In the corridors transitioning the and portions of the building, lie steel double door and window assemblies that span from floor to ceiling. On the basement, LAS discovered these are six-part assemblies with a bank of two-light, five-light, and two- light windows above double doors flanked by sidelights.

On the first and second floors, these are seven-part assemblies with a bank of four, six-light fixed windows above double doors flanked by sidelights. The door and sidelights are composed of one light over a solid panel. 92 91F In every hall at the north and south stairs, there are steel double door assemblies that have one large light above a single panel and are framed in a flat plaster partition wall. 93 92F b. Windows: LAS Condition Assessment report was also able to identify that there are boarded- up window openings in corridor walls, but no extant frames. They occur in groupings of two and three along the main north/south corridor on the second and third floors. There are eighteen in total, most of which are located on the west wall of the corridor.

They align with the heights of the door transoms. 94 93F In the basement, there are two decorative metal grilles. A small, six-light fixed sash wood window appears in a partition wall on the first floor, in the east facing room that is directly south of the east stair. 95 94F LAS s investigation finally discovered that there are also punched openings below some of the windows on the east and west elevations. These correspond to the recessed radiator coves and 90 LAS, Condition Assessment, 19. 91 LAS, Condition Assessment, 19. 92 LAS, Condition Assessment, 19. 93 LAS, Condition Assessment, 19. 94 LAS, Condition Assessment, 17. 95 LAS, Condition Assessment, 17. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 20) are currently boarded up.

There was likely a grille of some kind in the opening, but these are no longer extant. 96 95F 5. Decorative Features and Trim: Throughout the corridors of the portion of the building, classrooms have 9-1/8-inch three-part wood base trim. Corridors on the first and second floor also have 5-1/2-inch wood trim at approximately seventy-five inches off center above finished floor level. 97 In the first-floor hallway there are non-historic wood- 96F composite chair rails along the wall. The classroom closets have two or three wood rails where coat hooks were located.

98 97F In the Conditions Assessment it was reported, all classrooms feature a metal framed fiber-composite wall panel on the corridor-facing and interior partition walls, and in some instanced with a white board or modern chalkboard. Classrooms also feature a built-in wood cabinet receded into a niche in the masonry walls. 99 98F In the section, the doorways have wood jambs. The typical windows has a deep, sloped sill, with three-part stool, the exception being the window banks in the classrooms that feature a continuous sill and one-part stool. Below the windows are recesses for steam-heat radiators, alternating with wood panel dados framed in wood molding.

100 Similarly in the auditorium, radiator recesses are 99F present below windows and in one case retains a complex wood molding frame. 101 Finally in both staircases, a double two-inch round, wood handrail with a molded wood cap on the plaster-faced string wall appears, one thirty- nine inches in height and the other forty-two inches in height. 102 6. Hardware: According to LAS, evidence and a few extant examples of hardware suggest that doors had simple brass escutcheon plates and flat faced brass knobs, with mortised locks. 103 7. Mechanical Equipment: a. Heating, air conditioning, ventilation: From the Environmental Site Assessment, it was learned that conditioned 96 LAS, Condition Assessment, 17. 97 LAS, Condition Assessment, 20. 98 LAS, Condition Assessment, 20.

99 LAS, Condition Assessment, 20. 100 LAS, Condition Assessment, 20. 101 LAS, Condition Assessment, 20. 102 LAS, Condition Assessment, 20. 103 LAS, Condition Assessment, 19. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 21) air for heating and cooling [was] primarily provided by steam radiators located throughout the building and air handling units (AHUs) located in the north and south stair tower attic spaces and above finish ceilings. 104 While the Atlanta Preservation Center offered some historical context by sharing, the building originally had steam heat, a fan system, and electrical lighting, which were continued in the expansion. In many rooms are runs for ductwork, while there are radiators and exposed pipes in others. By the building had been air conditioned. 105 b.

Lighting: Many of the rooms have hanging or fallen fluorescent light fixtures. APC reported one room in the basement, the cafeteria and some corridors on the second floor to have more modern fixtures. 106 c. Plumbing: The MACTEC report indicated that the building had steam pipe insulation. 107 8. Original Furnishings: The section includes custom-built shelving in many classrooms; two panels, single-light, and double-light wood doors that fit in the recesses of the walls flanking both sides of the front classroom chalkboard. 108 D. Site 1. Historic landscape design: Opened in the new English Avenue School was designed Edwards and Walter to meet the growing population of children in the neighborhood.

However soon was overcrowded, necessitating three additions, in and 109 The finished wings were the only additions that remain today. Between and four temporary portable classrooms were erected north of the main school building. 110 The building sits on a north-south axis, in the southern section of a acre lot, with the front entrance facing west onto English Avenue NW. 104 MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc. (MACTEC), Phase I Environmental Assessment -Report of Asbestos and Leaded Paint Consulting Services, English Avenue Elementary School, Atlanta, GA, May 19, 2. 105 APC, National Registry Nomination, 12. 106 APC, National Registry Nomination, 12. 107 MACTEC, Phase I Environmental Assessment, 6. 108 APC, National Registry Nomination, 4. 109 APC, National Registry Nomination, 8.

110 APC, National Registry Nomination, 8. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 22) Since the after Fox Street NW was closed, the school took up nearly two city blocks from Pelham Street NW to the south up to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway to the north. Its boundary line is taken up by all that square footage for the exception of the Carnegie Library in the northwest corner of the site, now owned by a construction company. The property includes the extant school building, sidewalk, and asphalt- paved parking lot, as well as an asphalt-paved play area, and green space that surrounds the building to the west, east, and north.

111 At the intersection of Pelham Street and Brawley Drive, the street is well above the average grade level of the site, with both roads slope down at the opposite corners. The steep grade change along Pelham and Brawley is mitigated by several retaining walls, largely a built-up rubble and earthen slope. 112 A concrete retaining wall runs along most of English Avenue encapsulating a mostly level greenspace in front of the west fa ade up until the sidewalk. There are several mature trees in this area as well as along the south fa ade. Less mature trees are also growing along the east fa ade butting up or from the foundation of the building itself. 2.

Outbuildings: By the time the building was purchased in from Atlanta Public Schools, any of the outbuildings were then removed from the site. On the east side of the campus remnants of the annex and ghost marks of the structure that connected the main building to the annex are all that remain. North of the east fa ade entrance is a modern, one-story brick utility/storage building with a shed roof of rolled asphalt. It has one window that faces east and concrete stair that leads to a small platform covered by a tin shed roof. The structure is brick veneer over poured concrete. The construction date is not known, but it is not visible in the aerials, nor is it is represented on the floor plans.

113 In a crack diagonally across the brick on the north wall was evident as if something was perduring internally. By much of the brick veneer has turned to rumble on the platform floor revealing a tree wrapping itself around the storage building. 111 LAS, Condition Assessment, 8. 112 LAS, Condition Assessment, 8. 113 APC, National Registry Nomination, 8. ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 23) Part III. Sources of Information A. Interviews: Lewis, John, Bishop- March 25, Mitchell, David- February 16, March 25, and April 4, Rogers, Ian Michael - February 16, March 25, Patterson, Keven R. - June 16, June 28, Thomas, Able Mable, Georgia State Representative - March 31, B. Selected

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-298. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Atlanta Preservation Center, National Registry Nomination for the English Avenue School. Draft. Entered into Georgia Register, August Blackmon, Doug. Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. New York: Doubleday, Blau, Max and Todd Michney. Terror in the City Too Busy to Hate: How the English Avenue School Bombing Challenged Atlanta s Popularity of Racial Progress. Atlanta Studies, December 12, Accessed April 24, City of Atlanta, Zoning Committee Meetings. Haight Davis & Associates, Inc. Structural Evaluation- English Avenue Elementary School May 30, MEDTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc.

Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), January 7, Lord Aeck Sargent, a Katerra Company English Avenue School, English Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia, Condition Assessment, January ENGLISH AVENUE SCHOOL HABS No. GA-298 (page 24) Repro Products, Inc. Statement of Work Reality Capture Services Proposal. January 16, C. Likely Sources Not Yet Investigated: Atlanta Public Schools Archives The Kingsbery Papers at the Atlanta History Center The financial records of the Georgia Masonic Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons Chattahoochee Brick Company business file at the Atlanta History Center Interview with Doug Blackmon, author of Slavery by Another Name. Pending Meetings with Lord Aeck Sargent and Winter Construction. Future Atlanta Public Schools Board Meetings.

National Registry #: Names of Property: Western Heights School English Avenue School Lula L. Kingsbery School 66 English Avenue School English Avenue Elementary School 95 English Avenue School