Sonoma Grammar School

Sonoma Grammar School is a historic building located in Sonoma, California. Founded in 1916, it stands as the largest brick building in Sonoma. In 1952, the building was saved from demolition and is now the home of the Sonma Community Center. The Sonoma Grammar School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1980.

History


The Petaluma Argus-Courier first reported on the Sonoma Grammar School on May 2, 1894, when twenty-five students accompanied their teachers on a field trip to the Maxwell's Grove in Sonoma Valley. By 1889, the school had grown and was divided into First Primary, Secondary Primary, Grammar Room, and High School with 150 students enrolled. The school district trustees decided to built a new building in front of the old school through a school bond.

On June 23, 1915, the Argus-Courier announced that the formal dedication and opening of the new Grammar School building was expected in time for the resumption of school September 1915. However, the new Grammar School building was not dedicated until Friday evening on May 5, 1916. The Sonoma Grammar School, built at a cost of $30,000, opened in 1916 with 160 students and Jesse F. Prestwood as the first principal. The buildng is located on 276 E. Napa Street in Sonoma, California.

The last class graduated in 1948 because the building was found to be seismically unsound. In 1952, Dr. Carroll B. Andrews and his wife saved the building from demolition and setup the Sonoma Community Center with a board of volunteers. A special plaque was dedicated on September 21, 2002, by the Native Sons of the Golden West to the Sonoma Community Center and as the original home of the Sonoma Grammar School. The community center sponsors music and art classes.

Design
The Sonoma Grammar School is a two-story Classical Revival-style building located on a 37260 sqft parcel. Designed by San Francisco architect Adolph C. Lutgens, the front elevation spans 177 ft and is divided into five sections. The central section features a portico with a pediment, cornice, and four freestanding columns. The Sonoma architect Victor described the building as "one of the few remaining examples of early 1900s elementary school architecture."

The front windows are arranged in six bays, each with five windows. The east and west wings were added in 1927. Inside, the building includes concrete stairyways with oak handrails, 12 ft high ceilings, and Douglas fir panel doors. The school's west wing houses a theater-auditorium with a seating capacity of 200 people.

In popular culture
In June 1996, the former Sonoma Grammar School building was one of the settings for Wes Craven's movie Scream. In 1990, Noël Coward's play Hay Fever was staged at the former school's Andrews Hall.

Historical significance


The Sonoma Grammar School holds historical significance in the areas of architecture, history, and education. It is the only example of pre-World War I Neoclassical Revival school buildings in Sonoma and is the largest brick building in town. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on November 28, 1980.

The Neoclassical Revival design was created by Adolph C. Lutgens, who also designed the Healdsburg Carnegie Library.