National Register of Historic Places

Cooper, Frank B., Elementary School

Seattle, King County, Washington
Listed
March 26, 2003
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
03000161

About this property

Frank B. Cooper Elementary School, usually called Cooper School, serves students from kindergarten through 5th grade. Located in the Pigeon Point neighborhood of Delridge, Seattle, Washington, it is part of the Seattle Public Schools district. The school's 14-acre (57,000 m2) site is immediately adjacent to the 182-acre (0.74 km2) West Duwamish Greenbelt, one of Seattle's largest wildlife habitat corridors. This rich natural environment enhances the school's environmental education program. While the current building, located at 1901 SW Genesee Street, was opened in 1999, Cooper School enjoys a long history in the community, dating back to 1906, when a group of 70 students, children of steel mill workers, attended classes at Youngstown School in a small building offered by the Seattle Steel Company. A year later, a wooden building—known as Riverside School—was built for the school at the base of Pigeon Hill. As the population of the community grew, the wooden structure was replaced by a brick building 1917, which was designed by Edgar Blair, with a 1929 expansion designed by Floyd Naramore. In 1939, the school was renamed to honor Frank B. Cooper, a former Seattle school superintendent. The historic Youngstown School building, located at 4408 Delridge Way SW, now houses the Cooper Artist Housing and Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. One of the school's assets is its diversity. Approximately 80 percent of Cooper students are racial or ethnic minorities and approximately one-quarter are bilingual. The first African American teacher hired to teach in Seattle Public Schools, Thelma Dewitty, worked at Cooper School from 1947 until 1953. The Thelma DeWitty Theater at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center is named after her. On Thursday January 29, 2009, the Seattle School Board voted to close Cooper Elementary School and move the Pathfinder K-8 program to the Cooper campus.

Location

4408 Delridge Way SW
Seattle, King County, Washington
47.56356, -122.36268

Categories

BLACKEDUCATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

14th Avenue South Bridge
Industrial
0.7 mi
Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant
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Seattle Public Library
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1.7 mi
Schmitz Park Bridge
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2.1 mi
Bay View Brewery
Industrial
2.1 mi

Nearby Battles

Puget Sound War — Battle of Seattle (January 26, 1856)
1856Indian Wars
3.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Cooper, Frank B., Elementary School listed on the National Register?

Cooper, Frank B., Elementary School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26, 2003.

What type of historic resource is Cooper, Frank B., Elementary School?

Cooper, Frank B., Elementary School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Cooper, Frank B., Elementary School?

The period of significance for Cooper, Frank B., Elementary School is recorded as the industrial era.

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