Roosevelt School

Roosevelt School

Roosevelt School Photograph by Steve C. Martens
1919–1921, Joseph E. Rosatti, and Braseth and Houkom. 1026 10th St. N

Perhaps surprisingly, this Collegiate Gothic school with cast-metal lanterns bracketing the entrances was named after Theodore Roosevelt’s aviator son Quentin. Rosatti’s design is heavily ornamented with cream-colored glazed terra-cotta that has similarities to the former St. Mary’s School (CS16.1), though here there are lion’s heads rather than the cherubs that adorn the entrance to St. Mary’s. The parapet has small crenellations, and large “Rs” (for Roosevelt) in terra-cotta trim are enframed on the side walls. The first phase of this neighborhood school was built north of the present building in 1902 and expanded in 1906 and 1909, before its strongly Collegiate Gothic character was affirmed in Rosatti’s 1919–1921 design. An unsympathetic window replacement detracts from what was once the delightfully scaled character of multipaned wood sash windows. A 2005 gymnasium addition is compatible in scale and detailing with the historic school.

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