Role of Education

Accession Number P75-54-N574g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection,

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

I am drawn to this photo, perhaps because it shows students in the context of their physical environment.  Taken in May of 1923, this class photo shows students at the Curtis Bay School on a concrete retaining wall in front of a building that appears to be made of cinder block.  To my eye, this building could as easily be a factory as a school house.  The Strayer Report describes this school in the following terms: "Inadequate site--Playground 17 square feet--Inadequate fire protection--Impossible fire escape--Inadequate artificial light." (Strayer 368)

Modular Spaces

Accession Number P75-54-0241g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection,

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

This interior view of the portable school house at Warren and Williams Streets shows several environmental features that progressive reformers sought to advance.  Although the desks are pushed close together, this classroom includes large windows for natural light and a source of heat, shown near the back of the room.