Whittier School

Whittier School 1911-1957

Solomon Andrew Layton was taking the scene by storm with his architectural designs having designed over two dozen OKC public schools around this time. Two of these included Lowell and Columbus Schools which looked very similar to how this one would end up being designed.

The name ‘Whittier’ was chosen by a senior, and that senior was Miss Virginia Bennett. She had chosen the name Whittier because he was one of the greatest American poets. She also chose the name for Columbus School giving her reasoning as Columbus is a matter of history that is taught to every pupil that would walk through its doors and potentially help them remember the significant date of him discovering America.

Built as a ward school in 1910 it opened just a week after most of the other schools opened in September. The late opening was due to the fact that construction was still being wrapped up on the building. Given that the work was a bit rushed at the end, it was a given that some things might have been overlooked. So not even two weeks after the opening of the building kids were given a two-day vacation so that contractors could tear out a baseboard of concrete that the school board had deemed not up to their standards and refused to accept.

Beautifying the school grounds didn’t take place until the spring of 1914. While what this entailed isn’t exactly clear, one can assume that a good amount of the trees on the property were planted around this time.

 

The extracurricular activities of the students gave the school a great reputation in the sense of sports. They had a stellar baseball and debate team often dominating the other area schools. They had their very own sections in the newspaper, which they called “Whittier School Reporters,” and gave the details and events throughout the grades. Whittier also had its own Cub and Brownie Scout Troops, respectively.

But with the good also came the bad, Whittier was an all-white school, having been built pre-Brown v. Board decision. Upon my research, I found an article that disappointed me greatly in the way our society normalized stereotypes and hateful rhetoric against people different from themselves. Headlining in 1948 was “WHITTIER SCHOOL CUBS TO PRESENT BLACKFACE SHOW”.  They would put on what is called a minstrel show, another name for a blackface show. This one would center around two characters called Mr. Bones and Mr. Jones. Students would sing and enact stereotypes of African Americans.

The Whittier families and students in 1940 made headlines for carrying out a “blitzkrieg” to the porch of Warren Edwards who was Board President. This came after the sudden and unanimous firing of the seven-year principal of Whittier, E.J. Phillips. With no explanation of the firing mothers and students marched to the door of Edwards and demanded the Phillips be reinstated. The board was supposed to hear out the crowd at a meeting but had postponed the gathering causing even more uproar.

A petition began circulating and eventually after trying to avoid it for some time, the board had to hear them out. But even after petitions, protests and outcry, the board moved forward with instating a new principal. The patrons of the school attempted to appeal but that also failed. In my research, I could never find any reason given for Phillips’ firing and why the board was unanimous in the decision to let him go.

Into the 1950s it seems the school hit an absolute low point in its history. They had experienced a handful of break-ins and vandalism to the school. One instance in October 1954 caused over $1,000 in damage and left classrooms ransacked as shown above. Another instance was in May of 1955 when vandals broke into the school and destroyed a bunch of lunch food. They smashed eggs all over the walls and floors of the building and took coffee, molasses, cocoa, lemon extract and soda into the mixer. Cottage cheese was also smeared all over the walls. Continuing the chaos they took two fire extinguishers and sprayed them throughout.

And then came 1957, the year that closed the book on Whittier School. It was amongst four schools that had been ordered to close in the area. The board noted that increased maintenance costs and a decline in enrollment were to blame for closing Whittier. The students who attended Whittier were split up into three different districts.

Army Reserve Training Center 1957-1961

The next life for the building is one that most wouldn’t expect, an educational and training building for the army reserves. The school district proposed a $35,265 annual rent and the army reserve counter proposed at $14,000 annually in rent. The Board of Education advised Dr. J. Chester Swanson acting Superintendent of the district to turn down the proposal but to continue negotiating.

After some continued back and forth the district finally accepted a lease agreement of $14,990 a year to the army reserves. Per the contract the board would take care of all exterior maintenance and the army reserves would take care of the interior. Before taking up residence in the building the board was to pour $4,000 into repairing the exterior plastering, minor roof repairs, routine window repairs and some repointing.

Oklahoma State University Technical Institute 1961-1982

After the Army Reserves vacated the building around 1961 a new life was needed in order for the structure to remain active. That’s when a collective effort between Oklahoma State University, OKCPS, State Board of Vocational Education, OKC University, and leaders or businesses and industries in the OKC area, came together to bring to life the Oklahoma City branch of the OSU Technical Institute.

This branch was a fully accredited two-year technical school with specialized programs and associate degrees. Phillip P. Chandler was director of the school and detailed that courses included civil technology, construction drafting and design, environmental control, instrumentation and process control, and mechanical technology. Within a year they had around 420 students enrolled and held the dedication ceremony in October of 1962. Even though classes had started being held the year prior while renovations were happening.

By 1967 the school had grown to a whopping 805 students a 24 percent increase since the previous year! And this rate of growth didn’t slow down the following year the school was said to be bursting at the seams. If they were lucky they would have a new building in no time, but only if state voters approve a new bond.

Thankfully it was approved and work almost immediately commenced on a new building finishing in 1971, this time located on land owned by OSU. A majority of the students were moved to the new building while the former Whittier School remained becoming the ‘east campus’ and still holding classes to a much more manageable class size. But this lasted for only a few years after until they officially moved out of the building in 1983.

Community Action Agency 1983-2006

For the next twenty years, the school district would lease the building to the Community Action Agency. This agency was responsible for doing so much good throughout Oklahoma City providing early childhood services such as headstart, drugs and alcohol counseling, emergency services and so many more beneficial programs to the community.

It seemed as though the age of the building was something that couldn’t be ignored, multiple newspaper ads throughout their tenure called for bids on heating, ac units, and other things to bring the building up to modern standards. This might have been the reason that they vacated the building in 2006, to potentially move on to a more modern structure and expand their services.

Cross and Crown Mission 2011-2019

Finally after almost 60 years of leasing the building the school district decided it was time to sell the building. It was listed in the fall of 2010 and on January 13, 2011, the building was officially purchased and turned over to the Cross and Crown Mission.

While they did manage to put a sign out front of their brand-new building, it is uncertain if they ever actually had service in the building. All of the addresses listed on their ads in the newspaper list one other than that of Whittier School and most reports continue to say it has been vacant since 2006.

Regardless, if they ever did occupy the building it definitely wasn’t for long leaving it vacant and abandoned for years. They sold the building in 2019 to R7 Capital Funding for $699,000.

Abandonment

Driving by the school now is one of the saddest things I have seen at an abandoned building in a while. The once beautiful building has become overgrown with trees and bushes. The brick, that once contrasted so well with the green trees is now covered in graffiti and falling from the top of the line of the roof. The concrete stairs and two main entrances that once greeted thousands of students are not drooping and littered with trash. Almost all entrances to the school have been busted open at one point or another, and many of the windows have broken out and attempted to be boarded up as well.

The state of the building has made it become a haven for unhoused persons. At any given time that you drive by the building, you can see at least three people taking shelter at the entrances. This also means that during the winter when it gets cold, they take up residence inside the building and many times light fires to stay warm.

This has caused many of the abandoned schools not only across the city but across the state and country to burn to the ground. That was almost the case for Whittier in November 2023 when OKCFD was called to a blaze at the school around 4 am. Upon arrival, there was fire and smoke billowing out of the windows of the building. Crews were thankfully able to put the fire out quickly and escort four persons from the building unharmed. But the fire definitely did its damage leaving a lasting mark on the historic structure.

Restoration?

Just as recently as April 2024, the Whittier School was sold by R7 Capital Funding LLC to Peak Equity Group LLC. The purchase price was not listed on the county assessor’s website but makes you question what is to come for the historic school building in a post-fire and prime historical redevelopment world. With a recent win of restoration soon starting on the OKCPS Admin Building after a small fire and the school board slating it for demolition, one can hope that the same success can be found for the long-vacant school that has been plagued with trouble.

Gallery Below of Whittier School

 

 

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