Williams Junior High School

Although it may not be a great example of the type of modern school design I will tend to showcase, it shows the modern styling of late 1940s and early 1950s institutional buildings. On this post I'm showcasing the exterior of the building, but tomorrow I'll post some pictures of the interior as well. At a later date, when I get the time to organize all my other pictures, I'll get to demolition photos, too.


If you look behind the tree, you can see the classroom windows. Glass blocks were very popular at the time, especially in schools, since they let in diffused light, a new concept back then. The general layout of the building shows that architecture was leaning away from the tall, intimidating schools of the past and moving towards more horizontally-oriented, low-slung designs.



This entrance with its cantilevered overhang led to the auditorium lobby. Its design slightly looks like that of a movie theater to me, and doors leading from the lobby could be shut and locked so during evening performances, there was access to only the auditorium and balcony, along with restrooms.


This architect's rendering of the 1969 addition to the building shows more of the outside of the building, since the tree is not there. It also shows the flagpole that stood until 2003.