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In 1928, there were 23 schools listed as being in North Minneapolis by the Minneapolis Public Schools. Many of those schools no longer exist. Over the next couple of columns I’m going to give a bit of history about those lost Northside schools. Here are the first three schools.
Hawthorne Elementary School was a masonry and wooden structure built in 1883 at 2414 N 6th Street. There were additions to the building added in 1903 and 1912. The school was named for American author Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4,1804 – May 19,1864) who is best known for his novels The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of Seven Gables (1851) both of which eventually were adapted into movies and plays.
From 1952 to 1962, the school had enrollments as high as 893 students per year. Because of the building’s age, the fact it was sitting on a rather small 1.24 acre lot, and the school district administration predicting lower enrollments, Hawthorne School was closed in 1975 and the building was torn down not long after that. In 2001 Minneapolis Public Schools built Nellie Stone Johnson School just a handful of blocks from where Hawthorne School had stood.
McKinley Elementary School was a masonry and wooden structure built in 1902 at 3700 Colfax Ave N. In both 1911 and 1918 there were additions made to the building. McKinley sat on a 2.2 acre site. It was named for the 25th president of the United States William McKinley who was born January 29, 1843. He served as president from March 4,1897 until his assassination on September 14, 1901. Before becoming the president, he fought for the Union Army in the Civil War, was a member of Congress and the governor of Ohio.
In the 1950s and early 1960s the enrollment at McKinley School ranged from 593 to 693. While it needed some updates, it was in better shape than some other older buildings and was part of a bonding issue in 1963. However, it was closed at the end of the 1977 school year and was torn down in August 1977.
Lowell Elementary School (pictured, circa 1887) was first built at 2301 Logan Ave N in 1886. That building was destroyed by fire. A second building was then built a short block away at 1900 Willow Ave N in 1893 on a 2.2 acre site, with an addition built in 1912. There was a major renovation done to the building in 1952 which is likely when it went from a peaked roof to the flat roof most former students remember. The school was named after American poet and diplomat James Russell Lowell (February 22, 1819 – August 12,1891). James Lowell used his poetry to express anti-slavery views. The NAACP named its newsletter after one of his poems – The Present Crisis which was about the national crisis over slavery leading up to the Civil War. The poem was also quoted by Dr Martin Luther King Jr. frequently.
Lowell School’s enrollment ranged from 543 to 654 between 1952 and 1962 but was expected to have declining enrollment in coming years. Because of the age of the building, the small size of the site and its location, school district decided to close Lowell in 1974. The building was torn down in 1976.
I’m hoping if you attended one of these schools, it brings back fond memories. If not, I’m hoping you’ve gotten a glimpse into schools here on the Northside of the past.
** For those who attended Lowell School, there is a FaceBook page “Lowell School Minneapolis” if you want to reconnect, share memories or check out old photos. Also, both the Camden Community Historical Society and Old North Minneapolis FaceBook pages have old photos of these schools.
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