March 2026.
The 1st Avenue School is one of Columbus’s oldest existing school buildings, only preceded by the 3rd Street School in German Village. It is a great example of the Italianate designs that were being built at that time with its branching plan and hood-molded windows.
1st Avenue School is located at 929 Harrison Avenue in the Harrison West neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by 1st Avenue to the north, a rehab center to the south, Harrison Avenue to the east, and an apartment building to the west.
History
1st Avenue School in 1950. Note the now-missing ironwork along the roofline. (All Columbus Data)
1st Avenue School was built in 1874, concurrently with the demolished Fieser Elementary School and the extant 2nd Avenue Elementary in Italian Village and Stewart Alternative Elementary in German Village. Its architect is unknown, but its Italianate design is almost identical to 2nd Avenue Elementary and Stewart Alternative Elementary, so it’s possible that one of those school’s architects (Max Drach and P. A. Schlapp) could have designed this school. (Columbus did not have a designated public school architect until David Riebel’s appointment in 1893.)
I presently don’t have access to Rhino, so enjoy this quick MS Paint edit of the Sanborn map to better illustrate what I’m talking about.
The school has received two additions, one in 1880 and another in 1890. It’s unclear which is which, but the school’s northern two “branches” are part of the original, while the third one to the south was an addition. One of the additions may have also been a minor extension of the smaller links between the three wings. Along with the additions, it was renovated and had new entrances added as part of Howard Dwight Smith’s work to modernize these aging schools in the 1920s.
A photo of the school in the 1980s. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
1st Avenue School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Near Northside Historic District in 1980, and it was individually listed on the Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 1983. It was listed for sale by the school district in 1981, and in 1984, the building was renovated. It is now used as offices and called the 1st Avenue Office Center.
Photos
An oblique view of the building from the corner of Harrison and 1st:
This is a very typical Italianate building. It is built of brick with tall rectangular windows, a hipped roof, and a gable on the 1st Avenue side. Though it was symmetrical before its addition, the third wing changes the axis of symmetry.
Looking closer, though, the addition is slightly larger and has a shorter connector, throwing off the balance of the entire composition:
Unlike the other two wings, the first one only has two windows that are spaced further apart:
Zoomed in on the central branch, which was the southern portion of the original building:
The building has a stone foundation, brick walls with a slightly recessed portion where the windows are, and a cornice along the roofline. The windows here have stone sills and brick hood molds.
The addition uses the same fenestration pattern, though it is noticeably wider:
Another angled view from the southeast, which shows the more copious window placement of the addition:
Howard Dwight Smith’s remodeled entrances:
The urns and doors are definitely more Renaissance Revival/Beaux-Arts than the Italianate of the original building, but I think the design integrates well. They add a little bit of spice to what was otherwise an unelaborated void in the exterior.
Heading to the west end of the building, we can see that it becomes more chaotic and less regular here:
The entrance on the left side seems to be unmodified. For some reason, the middle wing only has two windows on the top floor and a taller third window on the first floor, possibly indicating that the third windows on the eastern side were an alteration. Finally, a portion of the void between the original building and addition is filled with a one-story connector.
It seems like a loading dock has been cut beneath that connector:
The main entrance on this side:
I like the stone hood molds above the door and smaller windows, and they are unique to this part of the building.
Another angled view of the building from 1st Avenue:
Notice the stone hood molds here versus the usual brick, which seem to have been recently power-washed. Unrestored, they are usually covered in soot.
The central gabled portion has a different window pattern and unique brickwork:
The two normal windows versus the doubled, smaller ones at center:
This is probably close to what the hood molds would have looked like upon first installation. The carved details are also in good repair.
Another larger window, which has a halo of soot around it:
Detail of the school’s datestone:
Denticulated wooden cornice:
Various wooden and brick ornamental details:
This was a fun one to cover in-depth, despite the limited history available online.
Sources:
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/p16802coll28/id/248445/
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988521
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4084cm.g4084cm_g066561891/?sp=93
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