Education by Design

Accession Number P75-54-0005g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection,

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

This architect's drawing of a school building designed by Clyde S. Adams in 1923 illustrates some of the distinctive changes that took place in new school construction in the 1920s and 1930s.  The buildings themselves were larger and more spacious than previous structures.  Elementary schools were designed to hold 850 students; junior and senior high schools were made for up to 2,500 students.  In her book, Baltimore: The Building of an American City, Sherry Olson describes some of the new features added to schools: park-like campuses, playgrounds, lawns, landscaping, and flagpoles.  Inside, the buildings were equipped with modernized electricity, natural light, central steam heating, and multiple staircases for emergency exit.