District Trivia Question and Answer:
Question:
Washington School, named after George Washington, opened its doors to 150 students for the first time on September 14, 1896. Since then, how many building additions has the school seen?

Answer:
a) 1
b) 3
c) 6
d) 4

Four, with each addition placed directly south of the previous one.

The First addition was built in 1905 and included a basement and 1st and 2nd floors. At the time, the City limits were at Kreitzer Avenue, and Vale Street was the beginning of the County Fair Grounds. But the rapid growth of this part of town soon made it necessary to add another section to the school. The old bell tower was replaced with a structure suited for classroom space. In all, four rooms were added to accommodate students in grades 1-8 .

The Second addition was built in 1926 and included a basement and 1st and 2nd floors (the current section of double stacked windows on the curved façade). The old part of the building was remodeled extensively, with new windows, conforming with those in the new addition. Terrazzo floors were installed in the corridors and stairwells and "modern toilets" were also installed.

The Third addition was built in 1941, adding 7 classrooms and a gymnasium. Construction took place during the school year, often to the disruption of classes. School children named the shovel and crane that worked on excavation outside their windows "Nellie."

The Fourth addition was built in 1951 and included the current kitchen and lunchroom. The one story cafeteria kitchen area was built adjacent to the south end of the building. The school's Custodian cottage was previously located on this site.