Irving School - Bozeman, MT
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T0SHEA
N 45° 40.393 W 111° 02.896
12T E 496240 N 5057741
One of several WPA projects accomplished in Bozeman in the 1930s, the Irving School continues to serve its intended purpose, that of an elementary school.
Waymark Code: WMWD7J
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 08/17/2017
Views: 1
Streamlined Moderne was one term used to describe the style in which this school was fashioned. Designed by well known local architect Fred Willson, the Irving School was funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), with construction taking place in 1939. This was one of a trio of elementary schools - Irving, Longfellow and Hawthorne - designed by Willson in the typical streamlined Art Deco style of the day. Today the school serves 295 students in grades pre kindergarten to 5.
Irving School is a namesake of Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859), best known as the first American to make a living solely from writing. Born in New York City at the end of the Revolutionary War on April 3, 1783, he wrote under several pen names, one being "Diedrich Knickerbocker". The name became so well known that it eventually came to mean "someone from New York City", or more properly, "someone from Manhattan". In fact, the New York Knickerbockers derived their name from Diedrich Knickerbocker. Irving achieved a reputation throughout Europe and America as a great writer and thinker. As a result of this, and his training as a lawyer, he was appointed Minister to Spain by President Tyler. Some of his better remembered works include Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Devil and Tom Walker.