| Statement of Significance
Built in 1916, Terwilliger School was constructed during a period of progressive era growth that responded to changing city demographics and ideas concerning safety, sanitation, and child centered instruction (Rippa, 1997: passim; Cremin 1961: 135-153; Cubberley 1915: 283-290). By 1905, it became increasingly clear that dramatic increases in school-age children outstripped the district’s existing classroom capacity and existing schools could not effectively serve areas of the city with new residential development (Cubberley 1915: 283-285, 288-290).
Portland Public Schools (PPS) District Architect Floyd A. Naramore designed Terwilliger School. Floyd Archibald Naramore gained fame as the architect and superintendent of school properties for Portland Public Schools. Beginning in 1908, with the emergence of the Bureau of Properties, PPS district architects took on a more formalized role in the design and maintenance of school facilities (Powers and Corning 1937: 182). A native of Illinois, Naramore attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1907. Naramore’s first employment after his arrival in Portland in 1909 was as an engineer for the Northwest Bridge Works. In 1912 Naramore began his tenure at Portland Public Schools, which would continue until 1919. During this period, Naramore designed 16 schools for the district including the Kennedy School, which gained fame as a single story response to the issue of fire safety in American public schools (Evening Telegram 11-03-1915).
Naramore’s success with Portland Public Schools led to a similar position in Seattle, where he designed many of the city’s most renowned schools. Architect Victor Steinbrueck credits Naramore for producing the best quality Motor Age architecture in the Puget Sound area (Steinbrueck 1974: 508). Naramore subsequently founded several private architectural partnerships in the Seattle area. The best known firm, Naramore, Bain, Brady & Johansen, had early success handling large World War II building projects. The firm is now one of the largest architectural practices in the world (Ritz 2002:293).
For Terwilliger School, Naramore adopted the building program and principles that dominated the discourse for school design during the first half of the twentieth century. After several well-publicized school fires in U.S. cities, calls for a more fundamental change in the building construction began as early as 1906 (Oregonian, 10-31-1906). Like many of Portland’s new fire proof buildings, Terwilliger Elementary was constructed of brick and concrete. The school typifies the single-story U-shaped school plans that were seen as an exemplar of fireproof construction and rapid building egress (The Evening Telegram, 11-03-1915). These new buildings often were constructed in units and contained more differentiated and increasingly specialized uses (Powers and Corning 1937: 182). Terwilliger was constructed in two units: the original U-shaped building was constructed in 1917 and play courts were added between the wings in 1924. By 1924 the school, in addition to classroom and office space, consisted of an assembly hall, a boy’s play court, and a girl’s play court (PPS Archives: 1917 Terwilliger Plan). Classrooms do not show the degree of specialization (e.g. home economics, nature study, and manual training rooms) that existed in schools that were constructed during the 1920s.
Terwilliger School was constructed in the Colonial Revival style, a popular style for educational buildings during the early part of the twentieth-century. The architectural details of PPS schools constructed during this period encompass the Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, and Collegiate Gothic styles; architectural revivals that were viewed as inspirational and appropriate for educational settings (Betelle 1919: 28; Sibley 1923: 66; Patton 1967: 1-8).
Terwilliger School retains its integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association with its plan and exterior and interior finishes. The 1917 Colonial Revival school is recommended as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) because the school was built during the PPS program of progressive era construction and is a strong example of the principles that characterized the design of schools during this era; therefore, it is eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criterion A. In addition, the school with its character defining eyelid dormers, boxed eaves, octagonal cupola, and central portico with entablature is a good example of the Colonial Revival style. Therefore, Terwilliger School is also eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criterion C. |
