Longfellow School History
- The Longfellow School was originally located at the current Washington School site. In 1897 a building was constructed at Bancroft Way. The architect was the Cunningham Brothers. The first principal was Miss Emelie Bergen.
- In 1905 the building was moved to California and Ward Street, the site of the current school. The property did not reach as far as Sacramento Street. In 1907 there were 186 students enrolled at Longfellow School. Soon after the building was moved,the mass transit lines were established on both California and Sacramento Streets. This caused some safety concerns for the school.
- In 1922 a new building was built. The architect was William C. Hayes. In 1930 an addition was added to the school. The architect was James W. Plachek. In 1926 there were 533 students enrolled at the school. The building was retrofitted in 1935. The western and eastern appearances changed dramatically in this retrofit.
- In 1963 the annex was constructed. The architect was Lockwood, Apaydin and Angel Architects.
- By 1970 the student population had grown to 1,018.
- In 1995 the school became a middle school. In 1996 the architect firm of Elbasani and Logan (ELS) was hired to design a new building, a partial retrofit of the main building, and demolition of the annex and a portion of the main building. Construction took approximately two years and was completed by Fall 2000. Part of the main building retrofit including renovation of the historic theater space.