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Most Endangered Places
2004

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Most Endangered Places for 2004

FRANKLIN SCHOOL

13TH & K STREET, NW

STEWARD: DC GOVERNMENT
DC INVENTORY OF HISTORIC SITES: EXTERIOR (1964) AND INTERIOR (2003)
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES (1973)
NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK (1996)

During the late nineteenth century, the Franklin School was hailed in America and abroad as an ideal modern school building, winning awards for design in Vienna, Paris, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. The Franklin School was designed by prominent Washington architect Adolph Cluss and completed in 1869. Its clearly visible location on Franklin Square in a prestigious, residential neighborhood was meant to draw the attention of Congress and the nation to its housing of both the administrative and educational facilities of a school district under one roof. In addition to separate but equal classrooms for girls and boys, the school housed the offices of the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Trustees (later the Board of Education). This arrangement allowed administrators to personally observe the benefits of the new educational system. Large windows that provided plenty of light, spacious and well-ventilated rooms, and fine architectural detailing enhanced the learning environment. Franklin School is one of eleven buildings in Washington DC with an interior landmark designation. Although the exterior of the building appears in good condition, the building is currently unoccupied and windows have been broken and boarded up. The building is unheated, which has contributed to the deterioration of the interior finishes including plaster and wood trim. The lack of use and maintenance threatens the condition of currently well-preserved paintings on the third floor. The winter of 2002-2003 saw the building used as an emergency hypothermia shelter for the homeless. In 2003, the DC Office of Planning issued a request for proposals for a tenant. Currently the OP is reviewing two proposals.

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