| Additional Information: | Original Washington School Wing (photo code 298/16) is located along the building's east side, along 62nd Street. The primary, W. Lapham elevation (298/15 and 293/3) and the gym and auditorium wing (298/14) is along 63rd Street.
This school building consists of at least three periods of construction. The first and oldest remaining section of the school is located along S. 62nd Street and was built in 1925 when the school was known as Washington School. Designed by the firm of Lindl & Schutte, this three-story, Collegiate Gothic style section rises three stories in height and is faced with brick; a two-story wing extends from the south end. Two entrances are located along the primary facade, each of which is set within a gabled stone surround. Windows occupy the remaining upper level of the slightly projecting, entryway bays which terminate as a gabled parapet and are trimmed with stone-capped piers. Remaining windows throughout the school building are generally set in bands and are rectangular. A stone inset inscribed with WASHINGTON SCHOOL rests along the cornice/parapet. Narrow stone trim runs along the top of the raised basement level, as well as immediately above the second-floor windows. Window openings remain intact; however, original windows have been covered on the exterior by translucent material.
The school's primary facade, which faces W. Lapham Street and also rises three stories, was completed in 1951. Also designed by Lindl & Schutte, the style of this block reflects a melding of the Collegiate Gothic and Art Deco styles of architecture. Plain brick piers, like those found along the 1928 block, still vertically articulate the structure; however, additional vertical ornamentation, as well as carved, stone panels accent the block's corners along the cornice. Additional stone trim covers most of the first level, as well as the tower-like entry. Finally, the school's west elevation consists of a 1931 gymnasium and auditorium wing.
In March of 1908, the First Ward School (no longer extant) was established at this location, the original building of which was designed by the Racine firm of Chandler & Park. The school was later named Washington School and a number of additions were made, the last of which was completed in 1925. This 1925 addition is the only remaining portion of the original Washington School. In 1930-1931, the main block of the Horace Mann School, as well as the gymnasium and auditorium wing to the rear was erected. In 1947, a junior-senior high school addition was planned; however, in the end, a junior high addition was built, resulting in the completion of the W. Lapham Street facade in 1951. The school now functions as an elementary school and still maintains the Horace Mann name. |
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| Bibliographic References: | No permit dating to 1925 exists in the permit file for 6213 W. Lapham Street; however, Sanborn maps indicate that the S. 62nd Street elevation was built in 1925. A permit for an addition to Washington School dates to 4 May 1928, with an est. cost of $92,000, this may be for the gymnasium and auditorium wing along S. 63rd Street which, on Sanborn maps, is cited as having been built in 1931. Finally, a drawing in the West Allis Star, which dates to 15 January 1948, cites Lindl-Schutte as the architects and shows the existing W. Lapham facade. A permit for what is believed to be this portion, was taken out on 27 April 1949; this section of the school is noted as "from plans" on the 1951 update of the 1927 Sanborn map, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map-West Allis, Wis. (1927, updated to 1951); Szudy, "A Half Century of Public Education in West Allis," 76-78, 99-100. |
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