Within the context of the Second Great Dakota Boom, unprecedented increases in the student population necessitated construction of several new schools. Edwards’s design for the three-story school was tentatively approved by the school board, but after a more scrupulous review by board member James Dinnie, a brickmason-contractor accustomed to estimating new construction, the design was judged too costly. Edwards proposed some modest cost-cutting changes and the board adopted the less costly design “without affecting the appearance or efficiency of the building.” Washington School bears a few classical influences, prominent keystones, and a strongly projecting cornice. The school has been converted into apartments.