herr2ck: Big Mean Mother Hubbard

March 2026.

Hubbard Elementary School, formerly the Hubbard Avenue School, is a historic school building in Victorian Village. It is defined by its tall central tower and dome, which rise far above the steeply pitched roofs of its Queen Anne neighbors. However, its future is uncertain, as the school is slated for closure.

Hubbard Elementary School is located at 104 West Hubbard Avenue in the Victorian Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by Wilber Avenue to the north, Hubbard Avenue to the south, houses to the east, and an alley and more houses to the west.

History

A 1900 photo of the school. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)

The Hubbard Avenue School was being planned as early as 1893, as an order on Halloween of that year asked the school district to consider building its foundation to “give work to the unemployed.” (Bear in mind this was during the Panic of 1893.) However, the contract for its construction was ordered closed in November 1893, and bids were not received again until August 1894. As of the end of that month, construction had begun. During the roofing work, a builder from Circleville named Henry Greer and his son were killed after the scaffolding broke.

The school was completed in 1895, and it was designed by Columbus school architect David Riebel. Its construction coincided with a rapid expansion period for the district, which resulted in the construction of several other buildings I’ve visited. Its symmetrical Renaissance Revival design with a central tower is common of Riebel’s designs, and schools such as Ohio Avenue Elementary School in Olde Towne East and Southwood Elementary School in Merion Village have similar plans.

Engraving of the school from an 1893-1894 annual report. (HathiTrust)

Hubbard Avenue School was converted to middle school use in 1910 (only the second in both Columbus and the entire nation) in addition to its previous elementary role, which resulted in hasty modifications to the classrooms such as ad-hoc partitions dividing them in half. Naturally, this made the building extremely crowded. This situation lasted until 1924, when North High School opened its new building in Old North Columbus, and the middle school moved to the old North High building and became Everett Middle School.

Hubbard Avenue School was remodeled in 1950 at a cost of $163,080, reopening for classes in January 1951. I assume this is when the original pediment and arched window were hacked off the main entrance and replaced with a far inferior design. Anecdotally, this did not affect the interior, as a 2003 Short North Gazette article states it still had its original tin ceilings and wooden floors at that time. The same article also noted that one of the upper floors had an opening for teachers to observe students in the halls, which has since been covered.

The school as it appeared in 1980. (NRHP listing)

The only other modification to Hubbard Avenue School was the construction of a gymnasium on the eastern end of the school in the 1970s. It is a nondescript, one-story brick box that doesn’t really respond to or interfere with the original school. The school was later listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Near Northside Historic District in 1980.

Hubbard Elementary School first closed in June 2010. After a period of use as Clinton Elementary School at Hubbard, the school reopened around 2015 and continues to operate. However, as of a 2024 WOSU article, Hubbard is still slated for eventual closure. It is unclear if this will entail demolition of the building, as that is the case with nearby Columbus Gifted Academy.

Photos

The school viewed from the southeast:

The ugly-box 1970s gym addition is in the foreground, with the historic building behind. It is pretty banal and lacks windows entirely.

Principal facade of the school:

The 80-foot central tower is sandwiched by two projecting wings, which have pediments on the portion closest to the middle. The exterior is largely buff brick with a stone foundation and trim, and there is a metal cornice along the roof.

This has to be one of the tallest and most fanciful towers of any Columbus school:

Note the glass block window and low-quality patch job where original features of the school were removed.

I guess the architect was kind enough to add a Stripped Classical entrance, with fluted pilasters and a very subtle entablature:

Again, note the darker brick where the original pediment and sign were removed:

The tower’s Palladian window has been infilled with some odd air-duct-like material, which was painted black but is now peeling:

A nicely compressed view of the tower’s dome:

A wide cornice like the one along the roofs below serves as a visual demarcation between the square base and octagonal drum. The dome itself is also not circular and uses the same shape. Interestingly, the roof is slate, with little metal deflectors to break up snow and ice. The slate is in excellent condition and appears to be a recent replacement. It’s tough to see in my earlier photos, but the rest of the building has slate roofing too.

Another odd inclusion is these square columns in the opening, which use crocket capitals, a Gothic Revival feature?

Maybe Riebel had some left over from a church or something that he designed, and didn’t anticipate some nerd with a telephoto lens would zoom in far enough to notice.

The wings are two stories high with a slightly raised basement level, and each bay is separated by doubled pilasters:

There used to be a lunette window or something similar above the cornice, which has been boarded up.

The stone also has that lovely sooty patina from 130 years of pollution and acid rain:

The farther end is identical but lacks the roof pediment:

I got detailed shots of the three different levels of windows next. I bet the basement is a pretty dingy, miserable place to have classes:

The first floor’s rectangular windows have stone sills and lintels:

Note the denticulated brick above the second floor windows:

Gorgeously lit south and west facades:

It was strange to me how the columns have a banded pedestal mid-shaft to them. They aren’t resting on anything, so it adds texture but looks a bit odd in terms of classical correctness.

Capitals and cornice:

I also got an angled shot of the drum and dome from here:

Heading to the rear of the building, I liked this painted label on the school’s fence:

Much moodier viewed in shadow and through the naked tree branches.

The plan is the same here and the decorative details are carried over, but no tower:

I wanted to go in more detail on the west facade, but there were children in class in the playground area, so I wanted to respect their privacy and not be the strange man lurking near a school with a giant camera. The side entrance and its arched opening would have earned some attention.