First Hill's Old Summit School will celebrate its 100 year anniversary next year. Befitting this benchmark, the Northwest School, its steward, which will be 25 years old next year, will embark on a renovation project in 2005 that will allow this wonderful artifact of Seattle's educational past to continue to serve future generations of students.

History of a Landmark

In 1905, when he designed Summit School, James Stephens had just been engaged by the Seattle School District as the first official school architect. Although similar in appearance to other early frame schoolhouses based on his 1901 "model school" plan, particularly the old Latona and John Hay schools, the constricted site dictated a unique solution. Most of the model schools had a central stair located opposite the entry serving a "double loaded" corridor. As needed, wings could be added to the ends of the corridor.

Summit School, however, was envisioned as a single-phase project since the relatively small sloping site allowed no room for major expansion. The school building consisted of a simple H-plan with a single-loaded corridor located in the central section. Stairways were situated at either end of the building between the outer classrooms. Circulation within the central area was accommodated by a spiral stairway located in one of the set of twin towers bracketing the central entrance doors on the main floor.

The other tower was delegated to more mundane use as an airshaft. The school's stucco exterior, now hidden under asbestos siding, and its Mission Revival-style parapets were also unique within the School District. A recent look at Stephens' plans for the school building revealed that an office now located on the second floor above the building's entrance was originally a piano loft open to the main floor. Early students at the school may have been welcomed to morning classes by a bit of music filtering down from the loft.

Because the new school was immediately crowded to overflowing in 1905, serving 875 elementary and secondary students in its first years of operation, two additional classrooms flanking the entrance were squeezed onto the site in 1914. In 1928, a small gymnasium was added to the northern end of the school, its floor well below the building's basement, now called Commons, level due to the sloping site.

The small site also necessitated eliminating the usual playground. As a result, the older boys often used a gravel pit across the street during recess. In 1917, the District considered purchasing the lots across Crawford, but unfortunately decided against the purchase.

Although primarily an elementary school, over the years the building had housed a number of District programs, including a Demonstration School (1926-1930) and a school for the deaf (1940-1954). Declining enrollment led the District to close the elementary school in 1965, but Seattle Community College immediately leased the building to house college transfer classes between 1965 and 1973.

From 1974 to 1977, the basement housed an offshoot of the District's NOVA program, now called Summit Alternative School. In 1977, Summit was surplused out of the District ownership and purchased by a developer with plans to turn the building into offices. The building was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places the same year, with the intent of putting the new owner in a preferable federal tax credit position.

The Perfect Fit

In 1979, the Northwest School was a vision without a home. Ellen Taussig, current School Head and one of the Northwest School's founders, relates that Empty Space Director and founding board member, Burke Walker, first brought up Summit as a possible school site. Ellen and the other two school founders, Mark Terry and Paul Raymond, soon visited the school. "After we toured, we knew it was our building," Ellen remembers. The trio felt that the building was perfect to house their program "because of its location, warmth, light, hallways, variety of teaching spaces, character and historicity." With a little luck and "chutzpa," the Northwest School opened at Summit in 1980.

Commitment to educating students about the many realities of life has always been central to the school's philosophy. Ellen feels that the old schoolhouse reinforces this:

"An urban location, especially one with such diversity as First Hill, presents us with a very diverse population at our doorstep. We also believe that education about life should include participation in the larger world, such as cleaning the neighborhood, volunteering on election campaigns, and attending performances and exhibits, which this urban location facilitates. The warmth of the architecture and the generous light which pours in through the windows are intangible qualities that contribute to a comfortable and uplifting environment for education."

Community is another strong value for us and the spacious hallways serve as our "town squares." Students sit in our hallways, working together and socializing, an informal activity that helps to balance the students' serious college-prep studying. The building's variety of teaching spaces helps facilitate our broad program offerings -- a small gym that became a dance studio, a skylight studio for art, large corner rooms for science labs and humanities lecture halls and smaller more intimate rooms for discussion. The warm oak stairways and pervasive wood trim exude warmth. And students, while cleaning the building in our "environment program," learn to respect the age of the school while developing respect for the greater global environment. We feel that the building engenders respect for the past while our program develops students' confidence for the future."

Big Plans

The Northwest School was finally able to purchase the old schoolhouse in 1997, allowing it to begin planning for a longer-term future within the building. Since then the School's board of trustees and staff have developed a comprehensive vision, called the "Campaign to Ensure Permanence," that addresses the fundamental physical needs of an aging structure, while maintaining the core values of the School community. Besides the full renovation of the original school building and the addition of a library classroom wing on the north, the ambitious campaign also includes establishing a financial aid endowment and redirecting operating income toward increased teacher and staff salaries.

The planning process for the building renovation really began 2001, when the School hired the Mahlum Architects to help define the needs of the School and develop a master renovation and expansion plan. The firm brought to the process the insight gained from their work on the renovation of another James Stephen design, Coe Elementary School on Queen Anne Hill, a project of similar scope and size.

Despite its age, the old Summit School retains much of its original character. The configuration of single-loaded corridors and much of the original finish and trim remain. The most obvious deficiencies are a result of the aging nature of the building itself. The mechanical and electrical systems, including the heating plant, air handling systems, plumbing, and lighting are cranky, inadequate, and difficult to maintain. Some finishes, including floors, wall surfaces, and trim are worn or are inappropriate for current use. Although the building is generally "grandfathered" as far as code compliance, the School feels that it is time to address accessibility, seismic restraint systems and other general code issues.

More classroom space is vitally needed and the School's Common's, the central gathering space for the school student body, needs to be increased in size. Ultimately, the hope was to address these needs while retaining the historic character defining features, such as the high ceilings and light filled hallways that are so appreciated by the School's students and faculty and allowed the building to become a City of Seattle Landmark in 1990.

Design for Learning

The solution developed by Mahlum is modest in scope and respectful of the building. A phased approach was proposed that would allow construction work to occur over a succession of summers and allow construction to proceed as funds for the project are raised.

As a first phase, a new 11,000 square foot addition will replace the nondescript 1928 addition to the north end of the building. Because of the restricted site and the lack of additional available adjacent property, this was the only area that could be redeveloped practically. The new addition will house a new library and computer lab on the upper floor, two classrooms and a photography lab on the next floor down, and a dance studio and music room on the lowest level. As part of this phase an elevator that serves all floors of the original building and addition will be added adjacent to the existing northern stairway.

Concurrently, or in another phase, the lower floors of the old schoolhouse containing the Commons, some classrooms, the faculty lounge, and the mechanical systems, would be renovated. The Commons would be enlarged to nearly twice its current size, enabling the entire student body and faculty to gather without crowding. The original southern stairway to this level that had been removed in the past would be reinserted. A new boiler and supporting mechanical equipment would also be installed as part of this work.

The final phases will renovate the remaining floors of the building including the restrooms, interior finishes, lighting, and windows. The restoration of the exterior to near its original appearance will complete this initial building project.

Respecting the Past

The Northwest School is serious about its continued stewardship of this historic building. The School intends to adhere to the Secretary of the Interiors Standards for the entire project and the City's Landmarks and Preservation Board will approve any proposed changes to the exterior and large central hallways, which will be restored to close to their original appearance.

Although some windows may be replaced, the original large windows on the main and second floor will be rebuilt and restored. Original trim will be retained in place or removed and replaced in-kind as necessary. The north addition will be restrained, surfaced with a compatible masonry veneer, and the roof kept below at the same level as the existing clinker brick veneer.

As the Summit School turns 100 years old next year, the Northwest School's 25th anniversary is notable within its context as a private school. Compared to Lakeside and Bush, the Northwest School is a relative newcomer, but has matured from an innovative alternative private school to an established, and nationally recognized educational institution. In 1996, the school was awarded a Presidential "Blue Ribbon" and has become a widely accepted model for the development of future middle and high schools throughout the nation. The fates of the Summit School, the Landmark, and the Northwest School, the new "institution" on First Hill are now intertwined if not inseparable. The Schoolhouse and the School are now one.

For more on local historic schools, read:

Erigero, Patricia C., "Seattle Public Schools, Historic Building Survey; " Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority; Seattle, WA; 1989.

Thompson, Nile and Carolyn J. Marr; "Building for Learning, Seattle Public School Histories, 1862-2000;" Seattle School District No.1, Seattle, WA; 2002.

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