University of Michigan Elementary School

A warm welcome to many long ago friends and teachers, or a teacher, Mrs. Osidchuck who I still remember fondly. I was a student here in 1966 and 1967, 3rd and 4th grade. I hope you will stop and share your name and a memory of your school days here.

Elementary School
Built in 1929
Architect: Malcomson and Higginbotham of Detroit
Contractor: Spence Brothers of Saginaw
Cost: $800,000
Net Floor Area: 95,000 sq. ft.
Located at the northwest corner of East University Avenue and Monroe Street
The University Board of Regents had originally appropriated $1,100,000 for the construction, but this num- ber was later reduced.
Built as a continuation of the University High School Building
At the June meeting of the Regents in 1927 the Board was notified that the state of Michigan had appropriated the sum of $1,100,000 for a site and for the construction of a laboratory elementary school. This amount, however, was subsequently reduced to $800,000.
Preparation of plans for the proposed building by the architectural firm of Malcomson and Higginbotham, of De- troit, was immediately authorized, and at the October, 1929, meeting the contract was let for its construction. The building was first occupied in September, 1930, and was formally accepted from the contractors, Spence Brothers of Saginaw, Michigan, by the Regents at their November meeting in 1930.
The Elementary School was erected, in effect, as a continuation of the University High School Building, which had been completed in 1923-24, so that the two practically form one building, although the newer section differs in some respects in design and construction from the earlier High School Building.
The Elementary School stands on the northwest corner of East University Avenue and Monroe Street, filling the block completely to the parkway. The building is constructed of brick with stone trim and has two wings, which, with the wings of the University High School at the north, form an attractive court used as a children's play- ground. The building provides more than 95,000 square feet of floor space. In 1954 the building was valued at $561,000.
The Elementary School provided for the education of children between the ages of two and twelve years, taking them from nursery school through the sixth grade. It is equipped with complete facilities for the instruction of young children and has adequate provision for administrative officers and for the training of graduate and un- dergraduate students and other workers in child development.
On the first-floor, passages from an attractive tiled lobby lead to the library, kindergarten rooms, a gymnasium, a small auditorium, a health unit, and rooms where the younger children take naps and have their luncheons.
Many facilities in the way of books, play, and special instructional material are provided in specially designed rooms. The second floor contains classrooms for grades two through six and for college classes, as well as offices and laboratories for the study of growth records and for the examination of the children. In general, aside from the suite of offices of the School of Education, the first floor is used for the younger children, while the second floor is devoted to the instruction of the older boys and girls. A number of rooms are equipped with observation- al balconies for use in the instruction of students. A third-floor playroom and a play court on the roof complete the facilities above the ground level.
When the building was constructed a full basement was excavated but left in rough form. The basement served primarily as storage space for a period of years. As the need for space has increased the interior of the basement has been reconstructed in a substantial fashion and now houses a Guidance and Counseling Laboratory, a Read-

ing Improvement Service, a Group Dynamics Laboratory, and the offices of the University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp. A part of the space is devoted to an inactive collection of books transferred from the University Library be- cause of crowded conditions there and to a collection of school textbooks of historic interest. The basement also provided space for a property room for the stage productions of the University High School.
Source: The University of Michigan: An Encyclopedic Survey; Walter A. Donnelly, Wilfred B. Shaw, and Ruth W. Gjelsness, editors; Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 1958.

Tags: Historical Place