Fannin, James W., Elementary School - Dallas, TX
Posted by: WalksfarTX
N 32° 48.337 W 096° 46.602
14S E 708167 N 3631927
This is a 3-story institutional building that is difficult to categorize into a single architectural stylistic classification but it displays some elements that are associated with the Late Gothic Revival.
Waymark Code: WMZN7M
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 12/06/2018
Views: 2
NRHP Nomination Form
"Fannin School was the second part of a two-buUding complex that was named for James W. Fannin. The first school building, which faced San Jacinto Street, was constructed in 1908 durning a population boom that took Dallas from a city of 42,638 in 1900 to 158,976 by 1920. The proliferation of streetcar suburbs in East Dallas during the first decades of the century resulted in increased numbers of school-aged children in the area, and prompted the construction of the second Fannin School in 1915 on the northern half of the block. It is the second school, which faces Ross Avenue, that remains standing. The 1921 Sanborn map of the area shows both buildings in use as "Fannin Public School" but the earlier school building was demolished in the 1980s.
According to Sanborn maps, the school has concrete-frame construction with brick curtain walls. The front of the school, which faces northwest and has a tripartite composition, has two entrances located at each end of the projecting central bay. A stuccoed or cast-stone water table marks the slightiy raised foundation, while another, wider, caststone, belt course at the first floor delineates the base of the 3-part facade. Cast-stone detailing is used extensively as a decorative detail, especially on the facade. The 6/6 light windows on the second and third floors have cast-stone spandrels or slightiy recessed brick panels. Three-light transoms cap each of these window openings. The parapet wall, which crowns the 3-part facade, is elaborately detailed with cast-stone cartouches, stepped coping, and both vertical and horizontal frames. The side elevations display detailing that is similar to, but more subdued than, that seen on the facade."