A hidden castle: Traverse City Central Grade School

Feb. 21, 2007

Magna est veritas et prevalebit.
(Great is the truth and it will prevail.)
This Latin inscription is carved in stone above an entrance.

q

A Fountain. Water pours from green ceramic fishes mounted in tile.

q

A great fireplace dominates a gloriously windowed room that overlooks a garden.Ceramic tiles of deer, men, oak leaves, and exotic birds adorn the walls of great room.

q

Gothic arches gently frame entrances; at either end figures carved in stone look down upon those entering and leaving
the building.

q

Rarely seen in modern buildings, red brickwork in repeated diagonal
patterns cover outside walls.

Is this a description of a European castle? A cathedral? Or, perhaps, the famous Hogwarts, Harry Potter’s famous school of sorcery? It is none of these things and it is closer than you know. It is a building erected 70 years ago at the height of the Depression. It is a building that reflects a history of nearly 130 years of teaching and learning at the same location. It is a building that provides a window into richness and quaintness of another time. It is Traverse City’s Central Grade School, located on Seventh Street in the Central Neighborhood.

A REFLECTION
The school reflects the times and the values of the community in the year of its construction, 1936. Its exterior ornamentations carry meanings about what schools are for and what kinds of knowledge are important.
At our modern schools we would not choose to portray scholars in robes, a candle alight with the flame of knowledge, globes showing only North America, a quill pen and ink bottle. Nor would we inscribe Latin quotations, even if we had the money for such decorations. Why? Is it that ‘scholars’ have been replaced by ‘researchers’? That a candle is antiquated as a symbol for knowledge? That a globe and a pen would seem quaint to us in an age of 3-D graphics?
Would we replace the Latin with English, since it has become the worldwide language of science? Indeed, is the depiction of books out-of-fashion too, given the power of the
Internet? Would our modern ornaments feature laptops?
These questions are intriguing and there are no satisfactory answers to them, but one thing is clear: times have changed and, with them, so have our attitudes about education. That is why we build our schools differently now.

A BYGONE STYLE
Central Grade School shows many features of Collegiate Gothic architectural style with its pointed arches above entrances, raised moldings, and scholastic ornamentation on the exterior of the building. The style was common in the first four decades of the 20th century, enjoying special popularity around the time of the First World War (1914-1918). Central was a bit old-fashioned even in its own time; perhaps, though, it was not notably out of step with schools built in other communities.
Kindergarten became a part of the American elementary school in the early part of the 20th century. The belief that young children need plenty of sunshine, good ventilation, and a home-like atmosphere influenced the design and placement of kindergarten rooms. Central Grade School’s kindergarten room provides a fine example.
The room is large -- larger than other rooms -- with a full bank of windows looking out on a play area and a separate exit to the outside. A fireplace occupies the center of the room, no doubt intended for storytelling on cold winter days. And at one end a pool is set in tile with water pouring out of two ceramic fish, making a calming sound of water flowing. Fish, snails and pond weed stimulate the children’s interest in nature. Years after graduating, kindergartners describe their memories of the room’s warmth and friendliness. Rooms are not just cold tile and wood and brick; they also hold emotional warmth that can last
a lifetime.

LINK TO THE PAST
Schools do become outdated; they have high ceilings and are expensive to heat – pipes are coated with asbestos; they are unfriendly to the handicapped with their knobbed door handles and interminable stairs; they provide little
opportunity for outside play with their small campuses.
At the same time, old schools can provide a link to a community’s past. Walking through the halls, you look at the old clocks in their copper casements, clicking in the same jerky fashion they did 70 years ago, and you connect with the experience of your mother and your grandfather. You rub the raised tiles showing a stag’s head, as hundreds of
other children have done. You feel the cold marble in the halls and you gain an appreciation for the continuity a community school can provide. This building bonds us together across generations. May Central Grade School continue to receive children as it has for 70 years.

Richard Fidler is a former TCAPS
biology teacher who taught in the system for 31 years. Since retirement, he has become interested in local history, publishing
articles in the on-line magazine “YourPlaceGrandTraverse.org.”