FRUITDALE SCHOOL

1927
Wheat Ridge, Colorado
National + State Register Nomination

After construction in 1927, it served as an elementary school until closure in 1978. As early as 1934, it held adult education programs in the evenings and from 1978 until 1991, it continued those programs exclusively, becoming an adult education center. In 1991, the building housed a language development center for area preschoolers. The Fruitdale Grade School is also locally significant under Criterion A for social history as the primary community gathering space for the Fruitdale community. Numerous community events occurred at the school and various organizations held meetings and other events there. Among the community organizations that met at the school were the Girl and Boy Scouts clubs of the area.

Finally, the 1927 Fruitdale Grade School is locally significant under Criterion C for architecture as a good local example of an Art Deco style building as applied to a school building. Character-defining features of the style found in the school include zigzag brickwork on the cornice and in the brick detailing above the entrance doors, detailed basket-weave brickwork separating the first and second story windows, and multiple-pane windows. Designed by well-known Denver architect, Temple Hoyne Buell, the building is an excellent example of his early school buildings. The small 1954 one-story addition to the west is a good local example of midcentury school design.