William Syphax School
William Syphax School | |
 William Syphax School in 2008 | |
   | |
| Location | 1322 Half St., SW Washington, D.C. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°52′33″N 77°0′31″W / 38.87583°N 77.00861°W |
| Built | 1901 |
| Architect | Marsh & Peter |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| MPS | Public School Buildings of Washington, DC MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 03000672 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 25, 2003 |
William Syphax School, now known as Syphax Village, is a historic former school building in the Southwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. that now houses condominiums. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
[edit]The William Syphax School historically served African American students. It was named for William Syphax, the first president of the Board of Trustees of Colored Schools of Washington and Georgetown.[2] He supported the notion of a unified public school system and supported equal educational standards. He was responsible for the construction of the Charles Sumner School and the Thaddeus Stevens School.
A building for the school was completed in 1901 and was expanded in 1941 and again in 1953. It ceased serving as a school in 1994. Three years later, residents complained that it had become a drug market and crack house.[3] The Southwest Neighborhood Assembly began to aggressively seek out a developer and found one, which purchased the school in 1999. The old school building was officially declared a historic landmark in 2003, and the newer buildings were razed starting in 2001. Manna redeveloped the school building into a condominium development, which opened in 2005 as Syphax Village.[4]
Architecture
[edit]The building was designed in the Colonial Revival style. The D.C. Office of the Building Inspector commissioned its construction. It was designed by the architectural firm of Marsh & Peter. Municipal Architect Nathan C. Wyeth designed the 1941 addition. The original building is two and a half stories and is topped with a hipped roof. The exterior features a red brick façade arched windows and white terra cotta trim. The additions are also covered in red brick but have flat roofs, multi-paned windows, and limestone trim.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b "District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Preservation. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
- ^ Fleishman, Sandra (13 May 2000). "Reading, 'Riting And Redevelopment". Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ^ "Syphax Village". Manna DC. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
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