Building Oregon
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- Alternative Title
- Maplewood Elementary School (Portland, Oregon)
- Creator Display
- Ernst Kroner (architect, 1866-1955)
- Creator
- Date
- 1948
- 1954
- Description
- This image is included in Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, a digital collection which provides documentation about the architectural heritage of the Pacific Northwest.
- Oregon Historic Site Form. Prepared by Iris Eschen.
- View Date
- 2009
- Temporal
- 1940-1949
- 1950-1959
- MODS Note
- Oregon Historic Site Form Maplewood School 7452 52nd Ave Portland, Multnomah County block nbr: lot nbr: tax lot nbr: township: range: section: 1/ 4: LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME elig. evaluation: not eligible/ non- contributing primary orig use: School secondary orig use: primary style: Art Deco secondary style: primary siding: Standard Brick secondary siding: Concrete: Other/ Undefined plan type: School ( General) Portland historic name: Maplewood School primary constr date: 1948 secondary date: 1954 height (# stories): 1 total # ineligible resources: 2 ( optional-- use for major addns) current/ other names: maplewood Elementary School ( c.) ( c.) orig use comments: prim style comments: sec style comments: location descr: assoc addresses: vcnt address: ( remote sites) siding comments: PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS farmstead/ cluster name: zip: total # eligible resources: apprx. addrs resource type: Building NR status: RLS survey date: 6/ 22/ 2009 external site #: 192 ( ID# used in city/ agency database) survey project name or other grouping name comments/ notes: ILS survey date: 6/ 22/ 2009 Gen File date: SHPO INFO FOR THIS PROPERTY NR date listed: GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS Optional Information 7452 SW 52nd Ave Multnomah County ( former addresses, intersections, etc.) architect: Kroner, Ernst builder: NR date listed: ( indiv listed only; see Grouping for hist dist) 106 Project( s) PPS Historic Building Assessment 2009 Survey & Inventory Project West elevation facing east Printed on: 9/ 8/ 2009 Page 1 of 3 Oregon Historic Site Form Maplewood School 7452 52nd Ave Portland, Multnomah County ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION ( Include expanded description of the building/ property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings, and alterations) HISTORY ( Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period [ preferably to the present]) Summary Description Maplewood Elementary School is located at 7452 SW 52nd Street in southwest Portland. The 4.30- acre campus consists of the primary school building ( 172A) built in 1945 with additional wings added in 1953 and 1954 and a detached portable classroom built in 1961 ( 172B). The school expresses a modest inspiration from the Streamline Moderne style and rests on a poured concrete foundation. Cladding on the wood frame building consists of a mixture of brick, glass block, horizontal board, concrete panels, and board and batten. With the exception of the barrel vault that covers the two story gymnasium wing, the mass of the single story school is covered by a flat roof. Fenestration consists of grouped metal frame windows. Architectural Description Maplewood Elementary School is located at 7452 SW 52nd Street in southwest Portland. Development in the neighborhood consists primarily of single family residences on large parcels of land built between 1950 and 2000. The 4.30- acre campus consists of the primary school building built in 1945 with additional wings added in 1953 and 1954 ( 172A) and a detached portable classroom built in 1961 ( 172B). Asphalt covered parking and play areas surround the school buildings. Play fields occupy the northwest portion of the parcel. The school rests on a poured concrete foundation. The main mass of the building is L- shaped with projecting bays that create additional opportunities to provide daylight and natural ventilation. Cladding on the building consists of a mixture of brick, glass block, horizontal board, beveled stucco, and board and batten. With the exception of the barrel vault that covers the two story gymnasium wing, the mass of the single story school is covered by a flat roof. Fenestration consists of grouped metal frame windows combined with glass block situated atop the windows. The primary entry to the building is at the northeast corner. A system of double loaded corridors provides access to various wings of the school. The administrative offices are located immediately adjacent to the entry. The majority of classrooms are housed in the north wing. Fluorescent lighting fixtures are recessed within the acoustic tile ceilings. Several of the corridor ceilings appear to have been lowered. Flooring consists of a mixture of 6” x 6” and 12” x 12” tile, carpet, concrete, and hardwood. A two- story south wing provides space for the kitchen, cafeteria, music room, and computer laboratory on ground floor. The second story is utilized for the gymnasium and auditorium. The flat ceiling of the cafeteria is supported by glulaminated beams and steel columns. The walls of the room are paneled in Douglas fir but other finishes are utilitarian including the concrete floor and exposed ductwork. Although the roof covering the wing features a prominent barrel vault, the drop ceiling of gymnasium obscures the original trusses. The walls feature blonde wood panels. The classrooms, primarily square or rectangular in shape, feature built- in cabinetry on the walls opposite and adjacent to the windows. Several classrooms have individual toilets. The classroom windows feature an operable awning window beneath a group of three fixed- frame windows. Alterations/ Integrity Since the construction of Maplewood Elementary School in 1948 there have been extensive alterations to the building. The first building on the site was the rectangular gymnasium/ cafeteria wing on the southwest corner of the property. In 1953 the main classroom wing was added to the north. In 1954 the building was expanded to the west to provide additional classrooms. In 1991 this wing was expanded again to create space for the office. A 1998 addition provided an interior connection between the north and south wings of the building. Other alterations include remodeling the music room and expanding and remodeling the media center in 1989 ( Portland Facility Profile). Due to the extensive additions and alterations the building lacks integrity. Statement of Significance Built in 1948, Maplewood Elementary School was one of the first buildings constructed during a period of modernization and new construction initiated by the Portland Public Schools ( PPS) after World War II. In 1945, the citizens of Portland approved a ballot measure that provided $ 5,000,000 over five years to construct, improve, and rehabilitate its public school buildings ( Portland Public Schools 1945: 2). The ballot measure enabled the PPS to respond to the explosive growth in school- age children that had occurred in the city as a result of the arrival of defense plant workers and their families, as well as the deferred maintenance arising from the lack of funds during the depression ( Portland Public Schools 1945: 2- 3). Beginning with this initial bond measure, the PPS embarked on an effort to improve its school facilities through renovations, additions, and new construction of over fifty schools between 1945 and 1970. For the new building program, the PPS schools adopted the call of architects and school planners across the country for new types of schools. Nationally known architects including Richard Neutra, the Architects Collective – led by Walter Gropius, and the Perkins Will architectural firm promoted new school types that reflected both evolving educational practices and design philosophies ( Ogata 2008: 567- 568; Perkins and Cocking 1949: 238- 246). Emphasizing the need for economy and rapid construction, the designers adopted new materials that were standardized and mass produced including steel, plywood, glass block, and aluminum. In many buildings, architects achieved flexibility through the building’s structure by employing non- load- bearing partitions walls and zoned ventilation and heating systems. Folding walls and moveable cabinets provided additional flexibility intended to enable teachers to rearrange rooms based on lesson plan and activities ( Ogata 2008: 568). In 1912, School District Number 52 constructed a school in SW Portland at 7452 SW 52nd Street ( Portland Chronology Binder). The school took its Printed on: 9/ 8/ 2009 Page 2 of 3 Oregon Historic Site Form Maplewood School 7452 52nd Ave Portland, Multnomah County RESEARCH INFORMATION Title Records Sanborn Maps Obituaries City Directories Census Records Biographical Sources Newspapers Building Permits Property Tax Records SHPO Files State Archives State Library Local Histories Interviews Historic Photographs Local Library: Multnomah County Library University Library: Portland State University Library Historical Society: Oregon Historical Society Other Repository: PPS Archives Bibliography: Bibliography McMath, George. “ A Regional Style Comes to the City.” In Space, Style and Structure: Buildings in Northwest America. Ed. Thomas Vaughan, 467- 499. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1974. Ogata, Amy F. “ Building for Learning in Postwar American Elementary Schools.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 67, no. 4, December 2008: 562- 591. ( Oregonian Arson Delays School Opening ( 09- 05- 1982). Perkins, Lawrence B and Walter D. Cocking. Schools. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1949. Portland Public Schools Chronology Binder. Portland Public Schools. Repairing, Rehabilitating and Modernizing the School Plant. Portland: Portland Public Schools. Office of the Superintendent, 1945. _______. Maplewood Elementary School. Facility Profile. Ritz, Richard. E. Architects of Oregon. A Biographical Dictionary of Architects Deceased – 19th and 20th Centuries. Portland: Lair Hill Publishing, 2003. Sanborn Map Company 1924- 1928, 1908- Dec. 1950 Sanborn Maps, Multnomah County Public Library, Portland, Oregon. Available at: https:// catalog. multcolib. org/ validate? url= http% 3A% 2F% 2F0- sanborn. umi. com. catalog. multcolib. org% 3A80% 2F. Accessed June 16, 2009. Snyder, Eugene E. Portland Names and Neighborhoods. Their Historic Origins. Portland: Binforrd & Mort Publishing; 1st edition 1979. ( Check all of the basic sources consulted and cite specific important sources) name from the surrounding subdivision platted in 1902 that was named in honor of the
- Subject
- Work Type
- Location
- Identifier
- OR_Multnomah_Portland_Maplewood.pdf
- Provenance
- University of Oregon Libraries
- Citation
- PPS Historic Building Assessment 2009
- Institution
- Submission Date
- 05/04/2015
- Modified
- 07/28/2022
- Collections
- Building Oregon (open)
APA
Building Oregon, University of Oregon. (30 Apr 2024). Maplewood School (Portland, Oregon) Retrieved from https://www.oregondigital.org/concern/documents/df67rn88r
MLA
Building Oregon, University of Oregon. "Maplewood School (Portland, Oregon)" Oregon Digital. 30 Apr 2024. https://www.oregondigital.org/concern/documents/df67rn88r
Chicago
Building Oregon, University of Oregon. "Maplewood School (Portland, Oregon)" Oregon Digital. Accessed 2024-04-30. https://www.oregondigital.org/concern/documents/df67rn88r
Wiki
{{cite web | url= https://www.oregondigital.org/concern/documents/df67rn88r | title= Maplewood School (Portland, Oregon) |author= |accessdate= 2024-04-30 |publisher= }}
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