Washington Street School (Hartford, Connecticut)

Washington Street School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	461 Washington St., Hartford, Connecticut
Area	2.5 acres (1.0 ha)
Built	1874 (1874)
Architectural style	Renaissance, Romanesque
NRHP reference No.	82004431[1]
Added to NRHP	February 19, 1982

The Washington Street School is a historic school building at 461 Washington Street in Hartford, Connecticut. Built in stages between 1874 and 1929, it is a good example of Romanesque architecture, and is reflective of the rapid growth on Hartford's south side. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.^[1] It has been converted into senior housing.

The Washington Street School is located in south Hartford's Barry Square neighborhood, occupying a roughly rectangular parcel bounded on the north by School Street, the east by Washington Street, and the south by New Britain Avenue. It consists of a series of brick and brownstone buildings, all two stories in height, connected in a rough U shape, with the legs of the U extending parallel to School Street. The main facade faces New Britain Avenue, which extends south westerly from Washington Street at an angle. Although they were built over a long period of time, the various sections of the building have a relatively unified Romanesque appearance, with arched brownstone entrances and occasional round-arch windows.^[2]

The first school to stand on this site was built in 1842, when a one-room schoolhouse was built here. By the 1860s it was significantly overcrowded, but a new school was not built until 1874. A portion of this building is contained within the surviving structure. It was repeatedly enlarged, in 1890, 1895, 1899, 1906, 1917, and 1929. During this entire period, the school remained a district school, and was taken over by city administration when all schools were finally consolidated in 1934. In 1958 it was formally named the Michael D. Fox Elementary School, after a long-time principal and administrator. It had been vacated by the time of its listing on the National Register in 1982,^[2] and has since been converted into senior housing.

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford, Connecticut