19.4 - Rosewood Elementary School NR SBR Draft_Redacted — original pdf

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NPS Form 10-900 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form OMB No. 1024-0018 1. Name of Property Historic Name: Rosewood Elementary School Other name/site number: F. R. Rice Alternative Learning Center, Texans CAN! Academy Name of related multiple property listing: NA 2. Location Street & number: 2406 Rosewood Avenue State: Texas City or town: Austin Vicinity:  Not for publication:  County: Travis 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this (nomination  request for determination of eligibility) meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property ( meets  does not meet) the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following levels of significance:  national  statewide  local Applicable National Register Criteria:  A  B  C  D Signature of certifying official / Title ___________________________ ___________________________ Date State or Federal agency / bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property  meets  does not meet the National Register criteria. _______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________ Signature of commenting or other official Date ____________________________________________________________ State or Federal agency / bureau or Tribal Government 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that the property is: ___ entered in the National Register ___ determined eligible for the National Register ___ determined not eligible for the National Register. ___ removed from the National Register ___ other, explain: _____________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas 5. Classification Ownership of Property X Private Public - Local Public - State Public - Federal Category of Property X building(s) district site structure object Number of Resources within Property Contributing Noncontributing 2 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 1 buildings sites structures objects total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register: 0 6. Function or Use Historic Functions: Education: School Current Functions: Vacant/Not in Use 7. Description Architectural Classification: MODERN MOVEMENT: PWA Moderne; MID-CENTURY MODERN NONRESIDENTIAL Principal Exterior Materials: Brick, Glass, Concrete, Wood Narrative Description (see continuation sheets 7-7 through 7-13) Page 2 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas 8. Statement of Significance Applicable National Register Criteria X A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield information important in prehistory or history. Criteria Considerations: NA Areas of Significance: Education; Ethnic History (Black) (local level of significance) Period of Significance: 1936-1976 Significant Dates: 1936, 1939, 1951, 1956 Significant Person (only if criterion b is marked): NA Cultural Affiliation (only if criterion d is marked): NA Architect/Builder: Giesecke &Harris (1936), Jessen & Jessen (1939), Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven (1951, 1956) - Architects; John R. Bingham (1936), R.H. Folmar (1939), J.M. Odom (1951), Archie Fitzgerald (1956) – Builders. Narrative Statement of Significance (see continuation sheets 8-14 through 8-26) 9. Major Bibliographic References Bibliography (see continuation sheet 9-27 through 9-29) Previous documentation on file (NPS): X preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested. (Part 1 appr. 9/04/2025, NPS #49819) previously listed in the National Register previously determined eligible by the National Register designated a National Historic Landmark recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # Primary location of additional data: State historic preservation office Other state agency Federal agency X Local government (Austin History Center) X University (University of Texas at Austin – Dolph Briscoe Center for American History) Other -- Specify Repository: Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): NA Page 3 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property: 3.15 acres Coordinates Latitude/Longitude Coordinates (see Map 3) 1. Latitude: 30.272468° Longitude: -97.708983° Datum if other than WGS84: NA Verbal Boundary Description: LOT 1-10 * AND LOTS 25-29 OF BLK 2 OLT 13 DIV B WILSON S I ACR 1.380 OLT 13 DIV B. (Travis CAD Property ID#197732 accessed December 1, 2025) and sketched on Map 11. Boundary Justification: The boundary includes all property currently and historically associated with the nominated school. 11. Form Prepared By Name/title: Rebecca Lapham Wallisch/Senior Architectural Historian Organization: Post Oak Preservation Solutions Street & number: 2506 Little John Ln City or Town: Austin Email: Telephone: 512.766.7042 Date: October 2025 Zip Code: 78704 State: TX Additional Documentation Maps (see continuation sheets MAP-30 through MAP-39) Additional items (see continuation sheets FIGURE-40 through FIGURE-62) Photographs (see PHOTO- 63 through PHOTO-77) Page 4 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photograph Log Name of Property: City or Vicinity: Photographer: Date: Location of Original Files: 2506 Little John Lane, Austin, Texas 78704 Rosewood Elementary School Austin, Travis County, Texas Ellis Mumford-Russell and Rebecca Wallisch February 2025 Photo 1. North elevation showing 1936 original school building (background center), 1939 boiler house (foreground left), and 1951 cafetorium (right). View south. Photo 2. 1939 boiler house (left), 1936 original school and historic entrance (center), and 1951 cafetorium (right). View southeast. Photo 3. Connection between 1936 original school and easternmost 1939 addition with 1940 boiler house at right. View southeast Photo 4. View of brick detail and inset tiles on original 1936 school, view southeast. Photo 5. Current (2025) student entrance to school at north end of 1951 cafetorium addition. View southwest. Photo 6. Kitchen portion at west end of 1956 cafetorium addition, altered c. 1985. View southeast. Photo 7: 1956 cafetorium addition (left) and westernmost 1939 addition (right). View northeast. Photo 8: Westernmost 1939 addition (left, foreground), and 1956 classroom/ administrative addition. View southeast. Photo 9: Retaining wall and 1956 classroom/ administrative addition. View northeast. Photo 10: Southeast elevation of the 1956 classroom/ administrative addition showing enclosed breezeway. View west. Photo 11: 1956 administrative hyphen connecting 1956 classroom to 1936 main school and easternmost 1939 addition. View northwest. Photo 12: Entrance to administrative spaces in 1956 hyphen. View northwest. Photo 13: East elevation of easternmost 1939 addition. View northwest. Photo 14. Detail of brick corbelling, curved metal rail, and PWA plaque at corner entrance of easternmost 1939 addition. View south. Photo 15: 1939 Boiler House. View southeast. Photo 16: 1959 sport court from surface parking lot at north end of parcel. View northeast. Photo 17: Corridor and stairs looking towards current (2025) student entrance on north elevation of 1956 cafetorium addition. View east Photo 18: Single loaded corridor in westernmost 1939 addition with original terrazzo. View south. Photo 19: Typical classroom with extant, original, built-in wood cabinetry in 1936 original school. View southeast. Photo 20: Double loaded corridor in 1936 original school with original terrazzo floors. View east. Photo 21: Cafetorium looking towards elevated stage platform. View northeast. Photo 22: Vertical circulation to 2nd floor of 1951 cafetorium. View southwest. Photo 23: Typical classroom on 2nd floor of 1951 cafetorium addition. View southwest. Photo 24: Administrative offices in 1956 classroom addition. View southwest. Page 5 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 25: Former open-air breezeway/corridor and staircase along east elevation of 1956 classroom addition. View west. Photo 26: Typical classroom space on 2nd floor of 1956 classroom addition. View northwest. Photo 27: Representative former restroom with original ceramic tile on 2nd floor of 1956 classroom addition View east. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 100 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Office of Planning and Performance Management. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1849 C. Street, NW, Washington, DC Page 6 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Narrative Description Rosewood Elementary School is a functionally related complex at 2406 Rosewood Avenue in east-central Austin, Texas. Originally built as a one-story brick school in 1936, the nominated building’s current, midcentury appearance is the result of subsequent additions in 1939, 1951, and 1956. The 1950s additions are both two stories (except for the connecting hyphen) and thus visually dominate the campus. The original school and subsequent additions were constructed on an ad hoc basis, giving the flat roof building an irregular, blockish footprint. A 1939 boiler house (contributing) and a non-historic-age shed (noncontributing) are also on the property, along with a 1959 sport court, a feature of the overall site (contributing). The property retains many historic features and finishes from its various phases of construction, including original terrazzo floors, wood baseboards and trim, original blackboards, built-in wood cabinetry, and modest exterior brickwork on the 1930s portions. Double- and single-loaded corridor configurations in the 1930s portions remain intact with some minor modifications, including subdivided interior spaces and relocated restrooms. In the midcentury portions, original features, including ribbons of windows, minimally adorned brick walls, and geometric emphasis in massing and fenestration, remain evident. On the interior, the 1950s portions generally retain their original configurations, and some finishes, including wood doors, tile wainscotting, exposed concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls, and elevated stage and the cafetorium are intact. The most significant modification to the building was the ca. 1980s enclosure of the open-air breezeway on the 1956 addition and hyphen that historically opened towards Rosewood Avenue. Additional alterations include replacement windows and doors, new siding treatment on some elevations of the 1950s additions, and interior renovations to the kitchen and bathrooms. Rosewood Elementary School is situated on an angular lot surrounded by two-lane roads. Grading and both historic and non-historic-age retaining walls and fencing mitigate the sloping lot and provide security to students from auto traffic on adjacent roadways. The overall site retains many of these historic features and is nominated as a contributing resource. The school is set amid a densely occupied mixed-use neighborhood in East Austin, historically occupied by African American, and later Hispanic, residents of the city. Although the property has experienced some changes over time to accommodate its continued use as an educational facility, it still retains historic integrity to convey its significance as a segregated school, purpose-built to serve African American students in East Austin. Setting Rosewood Elementary is situated on an irregularly shaped, 3.15-acre parcel in east-central downtown Austin, Texas in an historically African American area known as the Rosewood neighborhood (Map 3). The lot sits north of Rosewood Avenue, a major thoroughfare through East Austin. The surrounding area consists of a mix of dense single and multi- family residential development, recreational, religious, and educational facilities, and scattered commercial enterprises. The setting is largely urban, although some undeveloped woodlands flank the Boggy Creek Greenbelt and Southern Pacific Railroad corridor roughly 0.16 mile west of the subject property (Map 2). In recent decades, gentrification of the historically African American and Hispanic neighborhoods of East Austin have resulted in a mix of historic-age properties and modern infill on surrounding blocks. The Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex (1999) occupies a large, semi-circular parcel directly west across Hargrave Street. The 1950s Booker T. Washington Terraces, a low-income public housing development, is directly south-southeast of the property, while single and multi-unit residential properties line the northeast and north portions of the property. St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church sits across Hargrave Street at the property’s northwest corner. Rosewood Park (NR in progress), a historically significant recreational resource for the African American community of East Austin (NR nomination in review) is just one quarter mile west of the school, while Yellow Jacket Stadium (NR 2021) the last extant vestige of the 1950s, historically segregated Anderson High School campus is just south of the school across Section 7, Page 7 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Rosewood Avenue and Thompson Street. Rosewood Courts (NR 2016), a 1930s public housing complex and the first constructed under the 1937 Housing Act specifically for African Americans, is several blocks west of Rosewood School. Rosewood School is thus nestled within a larger cultural landscape of historically and culturally significant places associated with the African American community of East Austin. Site The Rosewood Elementary School property encompasses one triangular legal parcel that is bound by Sol Wilson Avenue to the north, Bedford Street to the east, Rosewood Avenue to the south, and Hargrave Street to the west. From the northeast corner the lot slopes southwest from 540 feet to 520 feet; it was graded and partially terraced in the late 1940s. Tall metal fencing surrounds the property along the sidewalks, and some masonry and concrete retaining walls are present at locations of significant grade change (Photo 8). Primary access to the property is via Sol Wilson Avenue on the north end, and a surface parking lot lines the north end of the 1936-1951 school and cafetorium building (Photo 1). A square, 1959 basketball and sport court occupies the northeast corner of the lot (contributing, Photo 14). Most of the school buildings and additions are oriented south-southwest, with the exception of the 1956 classroom and administration addition which is oriented south-southeast.1 The original 1936 school building, along with its 1930s and 1950s additions occupy most of the northern portion of the property, along with the 1939 boiler house (contributing) and a non-historic-age shed (non-contributing, Photo 13). A grass lawn takes up most of the angular, southern portion of the lot. Several large heritage oak trees surround the school building (Photos 7 and 8). Resource 1. 1936 Original School with 1939 Classroom Additions, 1951 Cafetorium Addition, and 1956 Classroom Addition (Contributing) Exterior The original school building completed in 1936 consisted of a U-plan, one-story building, oriented south-southwest with the primary entrance on the north elevation (Photo 1). The building is clad in brick in various shades of tan and pink. The brick is laid in a common bond with soldier stretcher courses at the foundation, roofline, and above windows. The corners of the building are punctuated by a regularly spaced pattern of two rows of running bond brick that protrudes from the main façade plane, separated by a single row of flush brick laid in a header bond (Photo 3). This pattern is also duplicated between the evenly spaced windows, which were replaced with non-historic, single pane, fixed windows at an unknown date (likely 1980s). Historic photographs suggest original windows were six-over- six, wood frame, hung windows. Above each window, an inset square tile with an X pattern adds additional ornament (Photo 4). Historically there were two entrance doors on the north façade of the building, later concealed beneath a cantilevered canopy added in 1939 that is no longer extant (Photo 3). The east and west elevations have matching additions completed in 1939 which abut the main school building at the northernmost corners and extend to the north. These additions mimic the brick cladding, decorative brick patterns, and equally spaced window openings (with non-historic windows) with cast stone sills that are present on the 1936 main school building, although they do not feature the inset tiles (Photo 3, 7, and 13, Figure 19). Historic photographs suggest original windows were six-over-six, wood frame, hung windows. An inset corner entrance with a single door sits beneath a flat roof metal canopy at the northwest corner of the easternmost 1939 classroom addition (Photo 3, Figure 20). Beneath the canopy is a metal plaque by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works that reads “Rosewood School Addition 1939” and credits Jessen & Jessen Associate Architects and R.H. Folmar Builder. The 1 Per NPS National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the National Register Registration Form, “Count a building or structure with attached ancillary structures, covered walkways, and additions as a single unit unless the attachment was originally constructed as a separate building or structure and later connected,” 17. Since the 1956 classroom addition was connected via breezeways at its initial construction, it is considered an addition per NPS guidelines. Section 7, Page 8 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas 1936 original school and 1939 additions display modest PWA Moderne influences, evident in the geometric brickwork and curved iron railings at the corner entrances (Photo 14). The 1951 cafeteria and auditorium addition (cafetorium) abuts the north elevation of the westernmost 1939 addition and occupies the northwest corner of the parcel (Photos 2 and 4). The two-story building is clad in red brick laid in a simple running bond. A new entrance to the school building was added at the southeast corner of the 1951 cafetorium addition when it was constructed and features partially glazed double metal doors under a flat roof metal canopy (Photo 6).2 Historically, large multi-lite windows on cast stone sills adorned the first and second stories on the east and north elevations and the second story of the west elevation, although they have since been infilled or replaced with single pane fixed windows. An additional entrance is located along the north elevation at the west end of the building (Photo 6). At the west end of the 1951 cafetorium sits a single-story kitchen that opens to a driveway on Hargrave Street and features a small, inset loading area with an elevated entrance for food delivery (Photo 6). The kitchen portion of the building is clad in non-original smooth concrete with decorative, horizontal protrusions at the corners that reference the Moderne brickwork on the original school building, although the cladding was likely installed in the 1980s when the campus was converted to an alternative school. The concrete cladding matches the cladding on the enclosed breezeway of the 1956 classroom and administrative addition. Along the south elevation, a concrete ramp leads to a covered entrance on the ground floor and a non-historic staircase that provides access to the second level of the cafetorium (Photo 7). The 1956 classroom addition is a long, rectangular, two-story (with a basement) building south of the main 1936 school building, oriented diagonally to face Rosewood Avenue. The two-story classroom space is linked to the adjacent 1936 main school building via one-story hyphen which houses the administrative school spaces (Figure 26- 28). The northwest and southwest elevations of the two-story building are clad in red, orange, and tan brick in a running bond with heavy concrete structural columns and beams visible on the exterior. On the northwest elevation, ribbons of windows with brick sills run the length of the first and second stories. Although historic photographs of the original windows were not uncovered, the architect’s original drawings list double-hung, Truscan Steel windows, four sashes long, in groupings of 3-5 rows. The original windows were replaced with non-historic, single pane, fixed windows at an unknown date, likely the 1980s (Photos 8 and 9). The southwest elevation features an entrance to the basement with double doors and a cantilevered flat roof canopy. Three small, fixed windows are inset into the concrete at the basement level, and the remainder of the elevation is infilled with brick, except where the formerly open walkway was infilled with concrete (Photo 9). Historically, the 1956 addition had an open-air breezeway (see Figure 26) along the southeast elevation, although it was enclosed and clad with stucco or concrete around 1985 when it was converted into an alternative learning school (Photos 10 and 11). Currently plans for the building’s rehabilitation proposed restoring this open-air breezeway. A non-historic entrance with double metal doors sits towards the south end of the southeast elevation, and non-historic, recessed, fixed windows provide light into the interior corridor on the first and second levels. The one-story administrative hyphen sits flush with the two-story classroom space at the north, also clad in textured concrete or stucco. The hyphen was not historically internally connected but was rather accessed via the former covered breezeway. As currently configured, the hyphen is accessed via a pair of double metal doors recessed beneath a flat roof canopy on the east elevation of the enclosed breezeway. 2 Research did not indicate whether the primary entrance, originally at the center of the 1936 portion, was reoriented at this time. When the property was converted to the private Texans CAN Academy in the twenty-first century, this corner entrance on the cafetorium was the primary student entrance. However, it is unknown whether this was the case during the building’s occupation by the Rosewood School. Section 7, Page 9 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Interior A double-loaded corridor, characteristic of early twentieth century Progressive Era school design, organizes the 1936 building lined with classrooms (Photo 20, Figure 18). The 1939 additions are single-loaded corridors, and all the corridors retain their original configurations. Corridors in the 1936-1939 building and additions have terrazzo floors and base trim, plaster walls, and dropped grid ceilings below plaster ceilings (Photos 18, 20). Most classrooms retain original, partially glazed (six-light), wood paneled doors, but some were replaced in the 1980s (Photo 19). Some transoms remain above doors, but have been covered over, removed, or replaced with louvers. Classrooms generally retain their historic configuration, although offices were created within some classroom footprints. Classroom finishes include plaster walls and ceilings (above dropped ceilings) and vinyl composition tile (VCT) floors, some above original wood flooring. Original chalkboard frames (and some chalkboards) remain in many classrooms (Photo 19). Original wood cabinets remain in nearly all of the classrooms in the 1936 and 1939 wings. Restrooms were renovated in the 1936 and 1939 portions of the building after the period of significance. The 1951 cafetorium addition abuts the north elevation of the westernmost 1939 addition at the northwest corner of the campus. Entering from the double doors at the northeast corner of the building, a wide corridor with CMU walls and VCT flooring provides access to the cafetorium to the north (Photo 17, Figure 21). The first floor of the cafetorium has an open interior with an elevated stage at the east end and a partitioned, non-historic (ca. 2005) kitchen at the west end, although it is located within the original kitchen footprint. Finishes in the cafetorium are simple and include painted CMU walls, VCT flooring, and lay-in grid ceilings (Photo 21). It is unknown what remains above the dropped ceilings, although finish schedules on the original architectural plan sheets indicate that the ceiling was originally acoustical dropped ceiling. A concrete staircase with CMU walls and simple wood handrails leads to the second floor, which has additional classrooms along the north end of a double-loaded corridor (Photos 22 and 23). Original architectural drawings show that the second floor was planned to serve as temporary classroom space, with eventual plans to utilize it as a gymnasium (Figure 22). It is unknown if, or when, the space was utilized as a gymnasium, and it is currently configured as classroom spaces (Photo 23). Exposed barrel-vaulted ceilings remain above the dropped grid ceiling. On the south side of the corridor are several small offices and restrooms. In the 1956 classroom addition, the now enclosed and internally connected one-story hyphen at the southwest corner of houses offices, administrative space, a janitorial closet, and a restroom (Figures 26-27, Photo 24). The hyphen is connected to the two-story classroom portion of the building, although it was not historically internally connected. When it was constructed, an open-air breezeway with a 10’ wide, cantilevered concrete roof lined the east elevation of the hyphen, continuing along the east elevation of the two-story classroom addition (Figure 26). The breezeway was enclosed in the 1980s creating an internal connection between the 1956 hyphen and classrooms and earlier 1930s building phases (see Photo 25 and Figures 23-28). The main corridor of the 1956 classroom addition was historically a single-loaded corridor accessed via the unenclosed breezeway with metal railings along the east elevation (Photo 25). The breezeway was enclosed, likely for student safety due to its proximity to high-traffic roadways, in the 1980s after Rosewood Elementary closed and was repurposed as the F. R. Rice Alternative Learning School. The concrete floors along the now-enclosed corridors slope away from the building to allow for drainage. Stairs are concrete with metal handrails that appear to have been modified to meet code (Photo 25). Four classroom spaces are accessible from the main corridor on both floors, with the northern two and southern two classrooms sharing two single-stall restrooms that bisect the demising wall between classrooms (Photos 26 and 27). Built-in cabinetry and low farmhouse-style sinks line the demising walls between the restrooms in each classroom. Some original ceramic tile is present in the small restrooms which are currently used as closets (Photo 27). The southernmost classroom on the second floor was partially subdivided to create additional office space for school staff. Section 7, Page 10 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas The basement of the 1956 classroom/administrative addition was inaccessible, however original architectural plans indicate that the space is utilitarian. Resource 2. 1939 Boiler House (Contributing) Exterior The 1939 boiler house is a simple brick structure with a flat roof and tan brick laid in a running bond (Photos 1 and 2). A centered entrance with double doors is situated on the east elevation beneath a concrete flat roof canopy supported by square brick columns. The main mass of the building is rectangular, with two square, brick-clad projections for furnaces on the north and west elevations, one of which was added during midcentury additions to the property. A single, multi-lite window was added when the boiler house was expanded during the 1950-1951 renovations and is situated on the north elevation (Photo 15). Non-historic mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) equipment was installed to the south of the boiler house between it and the main 1936 school building. Interior Although the interior of the boiler house was inaccessible at the time of the initial site visit, architect’s plans from the 1951 cafetorium addition show that it is utilitarian in nature and likely features exposed brick walls (Figure 21). Resource 3. Rosewood School Site (Contributing) Rosewood School is situated on a unique, irregularly shaped lot surrounded by city streets amid dense urban development in downtown East Austin. The roughly triangular site slopes to the southwest and features grading and terracing and mix of historic-and non-historic retaining walls and fencing. Other site features include a midcentury sport court at the northeast end, a surface parking lot at the northwest end, sidewalks and paths between building additions, and a grassy lawn at the southeast corner of the property. Resource 4. Non-historic Shed (Non-contributing) The non-contributing, non-historic-shed sits at the north end of the property just south of the surface parking lot. It is a simple, utilitarian, front gable shed with corrugated metal siding and roof. There are no openings except for a pair of metal doors on the south elevation. Although the interior of the shed was not accessed, it is a utilitarian storage shed. Alterations Exterior Typical alterations to the Rosewood Elementary building’s exterior include the replacement or infill of windows and doors, the relocation of some entrances, and the enclosure of the open-air breezeway along the east elevation of the 1956 classroom/administrative addition and hyphen completed in the 1980s. The one-story kitchen of the 1951 cafetorium was also reclad in concrete, matching the exterior of the enclosed breezeway, at that time (Photo 5). A small extension was added onto the north elevation of the 1939 boiler house in 1951, possibly to accommodate the conversion from coal to gas (Photo 15). Interior The interior of the school remains remarkably intact considering its continuous use as an educational facility for nearly 100 years. Many areas of the 1930s original school and 1939 additions retain original terrazzo flooring. Built-in wood cabinetry, trim, and chalkboards are still present in many of the classroom spaces (Photos 18-20). Historic wood floors appear to be extant in some classroom spaces in the 1936 original school portion of the building, although they are concealed beneath non-historic VCT. Ceilings currently feature non-historic drop ceilings to conceal MEP and other equipment. Walls generally retain the original concrete block, tile, gyp, or plaster as installed, although some areas of plaster show signs of deterioration. Many of the bathrooms were remodeled after the period of significance, however Section 7, Page 11 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas this is consistent with buildings that have been in consistent use. In some classrooms of the 1956 addition, original child sinks are extant. Former single-stall restrooms also remain in some classrooms with original or historic ceramic tile (Photo 26). The kitchen of the 1951 cafetorium addition was remodeled as the requirements for food service preparation and sanitation changed over time, likely after the period of significance. Historic plans show the original configuration of the second floor of the cafetorium consisted of “temporary classrooms” intended to later be converted to a gymnasium by the architects, although they are currently configured as classroom spaces (Photo 22). It is unknown if a gymnasium was ever present within the 1951 cafetorium second floor spaces. The most significant alteration to the interior is the enclosure of the former open-air breezeway that ran along the east elevation of the 1956 classroom addition, administration hyphen, and 1936 and 1939 portions of the original school and addition (Photos 9, 10, 11, and 24). Despite the enclosure, it is still legible as a once unenclosed walkway and exterior brick of the 1930s buildings remains exposed on the interior. Proposed rehabilitation plans would restore the unenclosed breezeway. The interior of the boiler house was inaccessible but was historically utilitarian. Integrity The original 1936 school and 1939 additions feature modest PWA Moderne influences evident in the horizontal bands of protruding brick at the building corners and between windows and the curved metal railings at corner entrances. However, the later 1951 and 1956 additions now visually dominate the campus, and thus, the property now reads as a midcentury school reflected in the clean lines, minimal ornament, ribbon windows, and visible structural concrete framing on the exterior. Some non-historic modifications, including the concrete-clad enclosed breezeway and concrete-clad one-story kitchen on the cafetorium have negatively impacted the complex’s historic appearance. However, character defining features like the exposed structural concrete framing remain visible, retaining the midcentury geometric emphasis typical of postwar era schools. Other character-defining features of the property include the modest PWA Moderne brickwork on the 1930s portions, original curved metal railings, fenestration patterns, and overall layout of the buildings and additions, which reflect the continued expansion of the campus as the student body grew and funds became available. The irregular shaped lot and sloping grade which characterize the property are also evident. On the interior, many character-defining finishes and fixtures are also intact, including terrazzo and wood flooring, wood trim, doors, and cabinetry, and general configuration. The property is being proposed for rehabilitation and current plans include re-opening the unenclosed breezeway on the 1956 administrative/classroom addition. As noted above, many of the original elements of the breezeway, including the stairs and metal railings, remain intact on the interior, as does the original exterior brick of the 1930s building. Rosewood Elementary School remains at its original location at 2406 Rosewood Avenue. It consists of a 1936 original school building with historic additions from 1939 and 1951, and a 1956 classroom and administrative addition with a hyphen (Resource 1). A 1939 boiler house (Resource 2), a 1959 sport court (a feature of the site [Resource 3]) and a non-historic shed (Resource 4) are also on the property. The property remains in a densely developed urban area surrounded by residential, commercial, and religious properties and the 1950s Booker T. Washington public housing complex, thus retaining its integrity of setting. The property was home to the Rosewood Elementary School from 1936 through 1984 and was a segregated (both legally and later de facto) school for African American children in East Austin Side for most of that time. As such, many of the building’s alterations, including upgraded MEP and HVAC equipment, replacement floors, non-historic windows, new kitchen in the cafeteria, and updated restrooms, are consistent with education buildings that remain in continuous use. Some alterations, including the enclosure of the breezeway along the 1956 classroom addition, were likely completed to provide additional safety to students from busy auto traffic on the adjacent roadways. Overall, the property retains many of its original features and successfully conveys trends in school design during various stages of the campus’ construction. In particular, Rosewood School is reflective of midcentury school design through its sprawling campus with integrated building and additions, the integration of indoor and outdoor spaces Section 7, Page 12 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas through broad expanses of windows and exterior pathways, and the use of modern building technologies and materials, like metal ribbon window assemblies, that were quick and inexpensive to construct during a period of rapid growth in school-age baby boomers. The use of mass produced materials and minimalist modern design on the midcentury additions are hallmarks of midcentury schools, which took advantage of streamlined design preferences and modern manufacturing to provide more space that was both efficient to construct and affordable.3 Thus, the school building and its additions illuminate the history of segregated public education in Austin and the property’s integrity of design, materials, and workmanship are able to convey the building’s history as a functionally related educational complex constructed between the 1930s and 1950s. The complex continued to operate as an educational facility until 2025, and the interior layout reflects its long use as a school, thus retaining integrity of feeling and association. 3 Lindsay Baker, “A History of School Design and its Indoor Environmental Standards, 1900 to Today,” National Institute of the Building Sciences, January 2012, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED539480.pdf, 11. Section 7, Page 13 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Statement of Significance Rosewood Elementary School is nominated for listing in the National Register under Criterion A for Education and Ethnic Heritage: Black. The segregated school for African American children was first established in 1932 following the 1928 City of Austin Master Plan, which concentrated all city services for African Americans on the east side of town. In 1936 architects Giesecke & Harris designed a new brick schoolhouse with funding from the New Deal-era Public Works Administration (PWA). As enrollment grew, two additions and a standalone boiler house were constructed in 1939 by the recently established architecture firm Jessen & Jessen, with Giesecke & Harris supervising. During the post-war era, enrollment again skyrocketed and a cafetorium addition was added in 1951, followed by another classroom and administrative addition in 1956, both designed by Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse, & Greeven. Rosewood Elementary School was purpose-built as a segregated school and remained segregated (first formally, later de facto) through most of its operation. Despite the 1954 landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the Austin School Board continued to resist integration well into the 1960s and 1970s. In Austin, the School Board closed or consolidated many formerly segregated schools. Although Rosewood was spared from closure in the 1960s, it remained de facto segregated until it shuttered in the 1980s and was converted into the F. R. Rice School, an alternative learning school. The school is highly significant for the role it played in the education of African American youth in the Rosewood neighborhood, and as one of the few remaining historically segregated schools in Austin. The recommended period of significance is 1936 to 1976 to reflect the property’s ongoing use as a neighborhood school serving African American students in East Austin. CRITERION A (Education; Ethnic Heritage [Black]) Prior to the U.S. Civil War, most African Americans residing in Travis County, Texas were enslaved individuals. Following emancipation, formerly enslaved African Americans who had lived and worked on agricultural properties and plantations in rural Travis County typically either became sharecroppers, sought work in urban areas, or purchased land in newly established freedom colonies and settlements.4 In Austin, up until the early twentieth century, African Americans resided throughout the city, although several enclaves emerged, including Wheatville, Robertson Hill, Clarksville, Waller Creek, Red River Street, Shoal Creek, and Gregorytown (see Map 7).5 In the early decades following Reconstruction, one of the foremost priorities for African Americans in the South was establishing schools to promote literacy and education, a key factor in self-determination and dignity. Some early schools were formed by local religious congregations, also called Sabbath schools, others were established with assistance from White6 philanthropists like Julius Rosenwald, and many early schools were conducted in community members' homes. 4 Hicks and Company, African American Settlement Survey, 2. 5 Hicks and Company, African American Settlement Survey, 2. 6 Preferences for language and terminology around topics of race and identify are inherently personal and can vary widely among different individuals with shared racial or ethnic origins. Furthermore, terms regarding race are nebulous and change over time as prevailing attitudes and perspectives evolve. The language and terminology used in this narrative is based on recommendations related to the use of sensitive language from several sources, including the American Psychological Association’s (APA) style guide on race and ethnic identity and the National Archives’ “Statement on Potentially Harmful Content,” which provides guidance on presenting sources that carry views and opinions that are outdated, biased, offensive, or violent. In this narrative racial identifiers are capitalized, including Black and White, following guidance from the National Association of Black Journalists. National Association of Black Journalists, “NABJ Statement on Capitalizing Black and Other Racial Identifiers,” accessed February 18, 2026, https://nabjonline.org/blog/nabj-statement-on-capitalizing-black-and-other-racial-identifiers/. Section 8, Page 14 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas In Travis County, both public and private schools for African Americans were founded during the Reconstruction era at Pleasant Valley (present-day southeast Austin) along with a small school in the Garfield freedom colony in eastern Travis County near the Bastrop County line.7 In 1881, the City of Austin established a school at Wheatville (roughly centered around present 23rd and San Gabriel Streets - not extant), while another was founded at the Metropolitan AME Church (11th and San Antonio - not extant) near Wooldridge Park, both on the city’s west side. By the following year, an additional two schools were established on the east side, the Porter Mission School in the freedom colony of Masontown (centered around present E. 5th and Comal Streets), and one at the Third Baptist Church (900 Block E. 10th). In 1884, a four-room school was constructed at Robertson Hill on E. 11th Street, which later added a high school department in 1889, becoming the first secondary school for Black students in Austin. In 1894, when a new Bickler German School for White children was constructed, the former school buildings were physically relocated to E. 11th Street and repurposed as the Gregory School (later Blackshear) for Black students. In the late 1880s, Austin public schools had a total enrollment (Black and White students) of around 2,670 students.8 Some sources indicate that a school operated out of a rented building in the Black enclave in Clarksville (near present 10th and W. Lynn), with a school purpose-built in 1896.9 In 1895, another school for Black children opened in South Austin, variously called the South Austin School, the Southside School, and later Brackenridge Elementary.10 Finally, a school for Black children was also established near W. 5th and W. Avenue in 1900, known simply as the West Austin School.11 By the turn of the century, in addition to the aforementioned primary schools for African American children, two higher education facilities for Black students opened in Austin: Tillotson College and Samuel Huston College.12 In 1907, Anderson High School opened in a two-story frame building at Olive and Curve Streets.13 Between 1896 and 1904, enrollment of African American students at Austin public schools increased from 1,051 to 1,424.14 African Americans in Austin and Travis County thrived during the Progressive Era of the early twentieth century, establishing new churches, schools, businesses, civic and fraternal organizations, and recreational facilities.15 Between 1900 and 1920, the Black population of Austin increased from 5,822 to 6,921, although their percentage of the overall city population declined from 26 to 20 percent.16 Education remained a significant priority, although lack of funding and adequate educational facilities continued to impact African American communities. During World War I, enrollment of African American students in Austin schools briefly declined, dropping from 2,332 to 1,175 between 1914 and 1924, although it rebounded to 2,077 by 1934.17 In the early 1920s, Austin’s segregated schools faced severe overcrowding in substandard facilities. In the 1921-1922 school year, teacher to student ratios in African American schools were 1:45, and many schools, including Olive and Gregory Elementary Schools, were forced to hold half-day sessions due to insufficient capacity for full days.18 The situation had become so dire that by the 7 Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 19; Hicks and Company, African American Settlement Survey, 45, 51. 8 AISD, “Seventy-three Vital Years Public Education in Austin 1881-1954 - Volume 1,” (Centennial Committee on Instruction and Research: 1954), 17. 9 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., “A Pictorial History of Austin, Travis County, Texas’ Black Community 1839-1920,” 21. Available at the Austin History Center, 11. 10 Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 22. 11 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., “A Pictorial History of Austin, Travis County, Texas’ Black Community 1839-1920,” 12 Huston-Tillotson College (now University) was listed in the National Register in 2002. (NR# 100007662) Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 23. 13 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., “A Pictorial History of Austin, Travis County, Texas’ Black Community 1839-1920,” 22. 14 Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 31. 15 Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 67. 16 Anderson, Racial Dynamics, 18. 17 Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 40. 18 Anderson, Racial Dynamics, 155. Section 8, Page 15 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas late 1920s, the school board finally put forth a referendum for major school improvements on a bond measure, which included funding for the first junior high school for Black students (later Kealing Middle School).19 As elsewhere in the nation and in Texas, the growing prosperity of African Americans during the Progressive Era was soon met with a backlash from White residents and city leadership who sought to limit their upward mobility. Increased racial threats and violence, the growth of the terrorist organization the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and expansion of Jim Crow laws restricting the lives of African Americans convinced many residents to leave Austin for northern states where they hoped to face less racial discrimination.20 This backlash also led to growing efforts to segregate Austin’s Black population outside the downtown core of the city. City of Austin 1928 Master Plan Amid a rapidly growing population, in 1928 the City of Austin hired Dallas-based urban planners Koch and Fowler to draft a Master Plan to guide the city’s growth. One of the core principles of their plan was to enable racial segregation and relocate minority populations, including African American and Hispanic residents, out of areas deemed ‘desirable’ to White residents.21 However, in 1917 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Buchanan v. Warley that racially restrictive zoning, a then-popular practice used by states and municipalities to enforce residential segregation, was unconstitutional.22 Thus, Koch and Fowler, like many other city planners across the country, devised an extra-legal ploy to circumvent this, writing in the 1928 plan: There has been considerable talk in Austin, as well as other cities, in regard to the race segregation problem. This problem cannot be solved legally under any zoning law known to us at present. Practically all attempts of such have been proven unconstitutional….It is our recommendation that the nearest approach to the solution of the race segregation problem will be the recommendation of this [East Austin] district as a negro district; and that all facilities and conveniences be provided the negroes in this district, as an incentive to draw the negro population in this area.23 The Koch and Fowler plan determined that African American residents should be limited to areas in East Austin, east of East Avenue (present IH-35) and the city cemetery between E. 14th and Rosewood Avenue. To facilitate this, it recommended that all city and social services for African Americans, including schools, be concentrated in East Austin. While the plan was never officially written into law, by 1930 the effects of the plan were nearly complete when a majority of Black Austinites lived in East Austin, particularly in areas near former freedom communities like Masontown, Gregorytown, and Robertson Hill (see Maps 8 and 9).24 To encourage the shuttering of Black enclaves in West Austin, in 1932 the Wheatville School for Black children was closed, and many residents were forced to relocate to East Austin so their children could receive an education. The 1928 Master Plan also included provisions to widen East Avenue (present IH-35), creating a physical barrier separating downtown and West Austin from the ‘undesirable’ east side home to the city’s African American and later Hispanic communities.25 19 Anderson, Racial Dynamics, 165. 20 Anderson, Racial Dynamics, 29. 21 HHM, Inc., City of Austin Historic Resources Survey Final Report - Volume I, I.2, Section 5 - I-53. 22 “Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 (1917),” Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center, accessed December 3, 2025, https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/245/60/. 23 1928 Koch and Fowler City Master Plan quoted in Dasch, et al. Reckoning with the Past: Slavery, Segregation, and Gentrification in Austin (Neill-Cochran House Museum, 2021), 33. 24 HHM, Inc., City of Austin Historic Resources Survey Final Report - Volume I, I.2, Section 6 - I-66. 25 Anderson, Racial Dynamics, 18. Section 8, Page 16 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Rosewood Elementary School and Segregated Education in Austin, 1930s-1940s There were 9,868 African Americans living in Austin by 1930, roughly 18 percent of the overall population.26 The onset of the Great Depression stymied economic growth, however, the federal government established numerous aid programs as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal, and civic improvements were some of the few significant construction expenditures in Austin during the 1930s.27 In the late 1920s, the present-day Rosewood neighborhood was outside the Austin city limits in the former rural community established by Swedish settlers known as Govalle. Govalle was annexed by the city into its public school system in 1930.28 African Americans who were forced to relocate to Govalle because of the 1928 Master Plan petitioned the school board to complete a school for area children in August of 1932. Rosewood Elementary School opened that fall, held temporarily in a former residence on the property, with 19 students. That year, that Wheatville School was shuttered on the city’s west side and relocated to the Rosewood site. 29 The name Rosewood was selected by the Austin Colored Teachers Committee, named for the adjacent street. 30 The following year, Rosewood had an enrollment of 87, with an expectation that another 21 students would be transferred from the Gregory School for Black children.31 In 1936, the African American population of Austin was estimated to be 14,000, or roughly 20 percent of the overall city population.32 That year, a school bond measure was passed, and the city received a grant from the federal government’s Public Works Administration (PWA) to expand area schools, and the first portion of the new Rosewood Elementary School, a modest, single-story schoolhouse, was complete.33 Friendly “F. R.” Rice was elected supervising principal of the Rosewood and Gregory Elementary Schools for Black students, with Sam Huston graduate Curtis Hazley joining the staff as vice principal by 1938. 34 During his time at Gregory School (later Blackshear), Rice successfully sought funding from the Civil Works Administration (CWA) to complete improvements to the school campus, the only project in the entire Austin Public School system (White or Black) to be awarded funding from the CWA at that time.35 Rice implemented a library program at Rosewood, adding a full-time librarian and 875 volumes beginning in 1937. During the period of Jim Crow, Black families had few libraries specifically for their use in East Austin. Amid the economic downturn of the Depression, Rice also successfully appealed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to fund meals for underprivileged children and between 1939-1940 ninety Rosewood students were fed by the program daily.36 During this time, the City of Austin used eminent domain to seize ownership of Emancipation Park, a cornerstone of the Black community in Austin. The park sat on a plot land bought by the Emancipation Park Association in 1907 to celebrate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Texas on June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth). The city cleared the park for a new public housing development named Rosewood Courts (NRHP 2016). Completed in 1939, it 26 Anderson, Racial Dynamics, 111-112. 27 HHM, Inc., City of Austin Historic Resources Survey Final Report - Volume I, I.2, Section 6 - I-72-73; Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 67. 28 AISD, “Seventy-three Vital Years Public Education in Austin 1881-1954 - Volume 1,” 30. 29 Sources did not indicate where the Rosewood students convened prior to the relocation of the Wheatville School to the subject property. It is possible they utilized the residence that was on the property at that time, but this is speculation. Austin Independent School District Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 30 Austin Independent School District Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 31 Austin Independent School District Records. “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 32 Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 67. 33 AISD Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 34 “Grave Chapel is Setting on Christmas Evening for Norton-Hazley Rites,” The Informer (Houston), December 31, 1938, p5. 35 Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 41. 36 Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 42. Section 8, Page 17 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Rosewood Courts was the nation’s first known public housing development purpose-built specifically for African American residents (a portion of which was demolished c. 2023).37 As African American families were forced to relocate to East Austin to access city services, enrollment in East Austin schools boomed. Within two years two new additions were completed at Rosewood School to accommodate the growing student body. Completed in 1939 the additions added four classrooms to the campus (Figures 5-10). Discrimination in education extended beyond the segregation of students, evident in a comparison of teacher qualifications and salaries in Austin. In 1940, the percentage of African American teachers in Travis County with college degrees was near 65 percent, compared to 60 percent of White teachers. However, African American teachers earned an average annual salary of $612, compared to the $1,032 earned by White teachers. That year, there were eight public schools for Black students in Austin, one high school (Anderson), one junior high school (Kealing), and six elementary schools (Blackshear, Clarksville, L.L. Campbell, Rosewood, Olive Street, and Brackenridge). F.R. Rice continued to serve as supervising principal at both Rosewood and Blackshear Elementary Schools until 1948 (Figure 15). In 1940, total enrollment of African American students in Austin Public Schools had climbed to 3,259 children, with 494 adults enrolled in night school. That year, Rosewood Elementary had an enrollment of 324 students (Figures 11 and 12).38 Teachers and staff at Rosewood School approached their roles as both educators and community leaders with reverence and commitment, regularly attending conferences and participating in a variety of state and national organizations. In 1941, Lily C. Rhambo, Tillotson College graduate and the “progressive librarian of the Rosewood Elementary School,” attended the Colored State Teachers Association conference in Dallas where she conferred with other librarians about best practices in “creative librarianship in the Elementary Schools.”39 In the 1940s supervising principal of Rosewood F. R. Rice served on the State Principal’s Conference, during which time he brought in prominent educators and professionals like Dr. H.A. Bullock (sociologist at Prairie View A&M and later University of Texas), Dr. B.F. Pittinger (Dean of Education at the University of Texas), and Tillotson College president William H. Jones, among others.40 Rosewood educators, staff, and parents also consistently engaged students in community service and educational opportunities outside of school. During World War II, the Rosewood Parent Teacher Association (PTA) organized a Victory Garden, with “the pupils in the school being enthusiastic workers in the garden. Many bushel baskets of snap beans, onions, peas, etc. have been raised in the garden,” with enough excess produce that principal Rice recruited Rosewood parents to assist in canning it for use during the next school semester.41 That same year, the Rosewood Girl Scout troop raised $25 for the war effort through the sale of defense stamps, and initiated its first summer day camp with principal Rice as chairman of the camp committee. Participants met at Rosewood School and took a hay wagon to Camp Duncan, where “the girls [learn] how to live in tents, cooking out-of-doors, [and] making evening campfires.”42 In 1949 C. R. Steward took over the position of principal at Rosewood Elementary, while principal Rice remained in his position as head of Blackshear Elementary.43 As evidence of the leadership roles that Black educators often played in their communities, in 1948 Steward was elected to the Travis County Democratic executive committee, despite 37 HHM, Inc., City of Austin Historic Resources Survey Final Report - Volume I, I.2, Section 6 - I-81. 38 Brewer, An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County, 38-39. 39 “Capital Librarian Attends Confab,” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), November 29, 1941, p6. 40 “Rice Declines State Office,” The Kansas City Call, December 7, 1945, pA12. 41 “Rosewood School Has Final PTA Meeting,” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), May 30, 1942, p8. 42 “Rosewood School Scouts Sell Defense Stamps,” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), May 30, 1942, p8. 43 Ellie Alma Walls,, “Facts and Figures,” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), March 26, 1949, p17. Section 8, Page 18 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas “strong objections,” becoming the first Black county committeeman. Steward oversaw the East Austin precinct (Ward 6B), which had a majority African American voter base.44 During WWII, thousands of African Americans served in the armed forces. Following the war, those who fought for their country returned home with an invigorated drive to fight for equal treatment under the law. Calls for ending racial discrimination grew louder, eventually coalescing into the sweeping national Civil Rights Movement. In Austin, Herman Mario Sweatt set off a long, protracted battle against segregated higher education in Texas when he sued the University of Texas at Austin Law School after he was denied entry based on his race. The Sweatt v. Painter case, later argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, laid the groundwork for future efforts in the fight against discrimination in public education and led to growing calls for full integration of public schools.45 In the 1950s, a new low-income housing development (Booker T. Washington Terraces - extant) was constructed on the south end of Rosewood Avenue between Webberville Road and Thompson Street, just south of Rosewood Elementary. The complex brought a large population of families and children into the school’s attendance zone, exacerbating its already cramped conditions. 46 In 1950, the Austin school board approved preliminary plans to add a cafeteria-auditorium (cafetorium) addition to Rosewood Elementary. In 1953 the board approved of paving Rosewood Avenue adjacent to the school. 47 That year, a new Anderson High School (not extant) was constructed on Thompson Street by the Austin Independent School District (AISD). The new Anderson High School was an example of an ‘equalization’ school, a term used for school districts in the South who promised upgraded facilities and amenities to “appease” Black and Hispanic families instead of implementing integration. 48 Rosewood students continued to benefit from the dedication of long-term staff like librarian Lily C. Rogers (née Rhambo). In 1952, Rosewood students, along with children from Anderson High, Kealing Junior High, Blackshear and L.L. Campbell Elementary schools participated in radio programs aired on KTXN for National Children’s Book Week, with Rosewood students helping present the “Library Book Buzzing” quiz show under the guidance of Rogers.49 In 1954, 25 fifth and sixth grade students at Rosewood were awarded certificates for outstanding reading by the Library Division of the Texas Education Agency under Rogers’ sponsorship.50 In 1954, there were seven public elementary schools for Black children in the Austin School District.51 During the 1954-1955 school year, 22 classes at Rosewood were reduced to half-day sessions due to overcrowding.52 Despite the cafetorium addition at Rosewood, which had raised the school’s capacity to 525, Rosewood faced a prospective enrollment of 922 students in the 1955-1956 school year. To relieve this overcrowding, in 1954 the school board converted the old Kealing Junior High School into the Mary Jane Sims Elementary School, which opened in 1955. Students in the Rosewood neighborhood living west of Hargrave Street were transferred to the new Sims Elementary, and Rosewood Principal Steward served as supervising principal at Sims. 53 Despite the new school, Rosewood 44 “Negro Elected County Party Committeeman,” The Austin American Statesman, April 25, 1948, p1. 45 Wilson and Segall, Oh, Do I Remember!, 112. 46 Austin Independent School District Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 47 Austin Independent School District Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 48 Rebekah Dobrasko, “Losing a Community Catalyst: The Closure of L.C. Anderson High School,” Preservation Austin, accessed February 13, 2025, https://www.preservationaustin.org/news/losing-a-community-catalyst-the-closure-of-lc-anderson-high- school?rq=rosewood. 49 “Radio Series Set by School Pupils,” Austin American Statesman, November 12, 1952, p13. 50 “25 Rosewood Students Receive Reading Awards,” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), June 19, 1954, p2. 51 Raven, Separate but “Equitable,” 30. 52 “Schools Near 25,000 Mark,” The Austin American Statesman, January 23, 1955, p1. 53 “Schools Near 25,000 Mark,” The Austin American Statesman, January 23, 1955, p1; Austin Independent School District Section 8, Page 19 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas remained overcrowded, and a new classroom and administrative addition was added to the campus, completed in 1956. By 1955, there were ten public schools in Austin for Black students.54 Concurrently, beginning in the late 1950s Austin began implementing Urban Renewal projects aiming to “clear slums and eliminate urban blight.”55 These programs consistently impacted low income and systematically marginalized communities, demolishing housing stock and other facilities and forcibly relocating hundreds of families.56 Although some new housing was developed in East Austin a part of urban renewal initiatives, and roads were finally paved in the Rosewood neighborhood, the completion of Interstate Highway (IH) 35 in the early 1960s only further isolated East Austin from the downtown core of the city. Brown v. Board: Desegregation, Not Integration In 1954 the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case found that government-mandated school segregation was unconstitutional. Across the South and in Texas, school districts dragged their feet on implementing desegregation. In Austin, the district initially implemented a “freedom of choice” plan for area high schools beginning in 1955, allowing parents and families to “pick” their school of choice, although it was ultimately a ‘token integration’ policy.57 That year, thirteen Black students at Anderson High School chose to enroll at previously all-White schools. In the meantime, the City of Austin began implementing “equalization” measures at Black schools throughout the city. This tactic was historically used by segregated school districts in the South to further prevent or delay integration through the construction of new schools in Black neighborhoods, or through the addition of upgraded facilities and amenities to existing all-Black schools. Equalization measures aimed to appease African Americans so they did not push for full compliance with desegregation. In 1955 two portable school units were installed on the Rosewood campus to alleviate overcrowding (not extant). 58 The following year, a new classroom and administrative addition was added to the Rosewood campus, followed by a sport court, which may be examples of equalization measures. Amid the city’s equalization efforts, by 1959 another new elementary school, Bethany (later Oak Springs) School (extant - 3601 Webberville Road), was completed just two blocks east of Rosewood School to “accommodate children in grades one, two and three from the Washington Housing Project area and [to] relieve Rosewood School.”59 In the 1960s, Austin’s Black schools continued to be underfunded and under-resourced, receiving books, equipment, and supplies second-hand from White schools.60 It wasn’t until 1960 that the district extended school choice to elementary school students in Austin. During the 1961 school year there were 20,673 students enrolled in AISD elementary schools. That year, Rosewood Elementary had no requests for transfers from White students to attend the school.61 In 1962, overcrowded conditions persisted at Rosewood Elementary, and an additional two-room portable unit was added to the campus (not extant).62 Despite the lack of resources provided to them, during the 1960s, Black educators in Austin continued to serve multiple leadership roles within their communities and served as strong role models for the Black youth of East Austin. In 1960, Rosewood principal C. R. Steward, along with principals F. R. Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 54 Allen, Blacks in Austin, 135. 55 City of Austin, “Rosewood Neighborhood Plan,” November 2001, accessed February 14, 2025, p19. 56 City of Austin, “Rosewood Neighborhood Plan,” p20. 57 Dobrasko, “Losing a Community Catalyst: The Closure of L.C. Anderson High School.” 58 Austin Independent School District Records. “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 59 “Dedication Set Tonight at Oak Springs School,” Austin American Statesman, September 23, 1959, p2. 60 Allen, Blacks in Austin, 136. 61 “Senior High Students Due to Enroll Today,” Austin American Statesman, August 29, 1961, p17. 62 Austin Independent School District Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” Section 8, Page 20 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Rice (Blackshear), John Belle (Sims School), and Cecil Moore (L. L. Campbell) served on the Boy Scout Advancement Committee for the Harry Lott Scout Division.63 Austin public school faculty weren’t integrated until 1964, and at that time most Black teachers who were reassigned were placed in schools that served primarily Mexican American and Hispanic students. 64 That year, only eight White students attended formerly all-Black schools in Austin.65 However, following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, school boards across the South were forced to finally comply with desegregation. However, White residents still staunchly refused to send their students to formerly all-Black schools. In 1968, a review of Austin schools found that the district was not in compliance with desegregation, and Anderson High School remained all-Black. That year, just two days after the assassination of Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., Wilhelmina Delco became the first Black Austinite elected to public office when voters chose her to serve on the AISD School Board.66 In 1970 the demographic makeup of Austin was more segregated than at any other time in history, compounded by White flight out of the urban core following attempts at integration.67 The school choice program proved unsuccessful, and that year Judge Jack Roberts redrew school attendance zones requiring residents to attend the school within their designated zone, although he rescinded the order only a few weeks later. White families continued to refuse to send their children to previously all-Black schools and in 1970 the formerly all-White Austin High School still had separate proms and senior class parties for White and Black students. 68 That year, seven AISD elementary schools, including Rosewood, reportedly had a student body that was 94 percent or more African American.69 Instead of enforcing integration, AISD closed the previously all-Black L. C. Anderson High School and Kealing Middle School, both of which had been pillars of their communities for decades. 70 AISD thus placed the burden upon the city’s Black children to be bused to other parts of town to attend previously all-White schools, where their presence was met with resentment. The City of Austin continued to consolidate or repurpose many of Austin’s other formerly segregated Black schools and rejected Wilhemina Delco’s proposals for two-way busing between Black and White schools. According to Education Historian Allison G. Raven, “Anderson students lost not only the place of their school, but the overall space of community that generations of Anderson teachers and students had worked so hard to construct.” 71 Raven continued, “Black students in Austin’s white schools might have been experiencing desegregation, but they certainly were not experiencing integration.” 72 In the early 1970s, when a lawsuit finally forced AISD to begin integration in earnest, the city experienced another period of rapid White flight, with White residents relocating to suburbs or adjacent bedroom communities like Round Rock rather than send their children to integrated schools.73 The fight over educational equity and integration 63 “They Help Scouts,” Austin American Statesmen, February 11, 1960, p30. 64 Raven, Separate but “Equitable,” 36, 69. 65 Raven, Separate but “Equitable,”69. 66 Allison G. Raven, Separate but “Equitable:” Colorblind Progressivism and Resegregation in Austin Schools (Dissertation) (Duke University: 2023), 15. 67 City of Austin, “Rosewood Neighborhood Plan,” November 2001, accessed February 14, 2025, https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Housing_%26_Planning/Adopted%20Neighborhood%20Planning%20Areas/2 5_Rosewood/rosewood-np.pdf, 22. 68 Allen, Blacks in Austin, 136. 69 Colette Rose Knisely, The Influence of Federal, State and Local Policies on School Desegregation in the Austin, Texas Independent School District (Thesis), University of Texas at Austin, 1978), p80, 83. 70 Dobrasko, “Losing a Community Catalyst: The Closure of L.C. Anderson High School.” 71 Raven, Separate but “Equitable,” 75. 72 Raven, Separate but “Equitable,” 77. 73 Wilson and Segall, Oh, Do I Remember!, 43. Section 8, Page 21 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas continued in Austin through the 1970s and 80s, although Black children continued to disproportionately shoulder the burden. When a new high school was constructed in the affluent Northwest Hills area of Austin and renamed Anderson High School, the controversial measure felt like a hollow victory to the families of East Austin who had lost what was once a source of immense pride. 74 While parents and school administrators expressed fears over integration, many Austin area school children expressed excitement over the prospect. In 1979, Franchetta Alexander, a fifth grader at Rosewood Elementary stated, “we can learn more about whites and they can learn more about blacks. Whites need to learn more about blacks.” 75 In the 1980s, the Booker T. Washington Terraces housing development directly adjacent to Rosewood Elementary was evacuated due to structural safety concerns. Initial plans called for demolishing the complex, although it was later renovated using HUD funding and reopened in the mid-1980s.76 However, when the housing complex was first closed, Rosewood School was already facing declining enrollment due to desegregation. Ongoing urban renewal projects and the closure of the Washington housing complex furthered the drop in student enrollment at Rosewood Elementary, which declined from 266 students to 156 students between 1983 and 1984.77 As a result of the closure of the Washington housing complex, Rosewood students were reassigned to either Oak Springs or Sims Schools.78 AISD elected to convert Rosewood into an alternative learning center for secondary students, which reopened in the fall of 1989 as the F. R. Rice School.79 The loss of Anderson High School, and subsequent closure or consolidation of other East Austin schools, had a profound impact on the Black community who had established strong social, cultural, and economic roots in the area since their forcible relocation in the 1930s. Former AISD Superintendent Pat Forgione (1996-1999) stated in 2008, “Not just the building got closed, but the neighborhood got dissolved…I can tell you, the black community has never forgiven the district for that.” Anderson alumni Joseph Reid (class of ’58) noted that when Anderson closed, it forced families to relocate outside the area, and “It seemed more than a coincidence that businesses in East Austin began to dry up.” 80 In the late twentieth century, the Rosewood neighborhood experienced periods of decline and expansion as families relocated, new businesses and recreational facilities moved into the neighborhood, and the demographics of Austin shifted. In the twenty-first century, the neighborhood’s proximity to downtown and the city’s exponential growth resulted in substantial gentrification of East Austin and the Rosewood neighborhood. Many historic-age buildings were demolished and replaced with modern infill or were heavily altered. Housing and property prices skyrocketed, and many African American and Hispanic families who had called the area home for decades were forced out of the area. In 2003 the former Rosewood Elementary School property was put up for sale by AISD and the nonprofit TEXANS CAN! purchased the property that year.81 In 2025, TEXANS CAN! sold the property to 2707 WTL LLC. As of 2026 the Rosewood School property is vacant, with proposed plans to rehabilitate the building for a mixed-used commercial development using state and federal Historic Tax Credits. 74 Raven, Separate but “Equitable,” 92. 75 “Busing,” Austin American Statesmen, October 28, 1979, pC8. 76 “Housing Project funds sought for renovation,” Austin American Statesman, August 1, 1985, p46. 77 Evans, Roxanne, “Conversion mulled at Rosewood School,” Austin American Statesmen, June 10, 1985, p13. 78 “Conversion of Rosewood Elementary to Secondary Alternative Center,” in “Rosewood Elementary School – Vertical File.” Austin History Center. 79 “AISD may use excess bond money for projects,” Austin American Statesmen, June 27, 1989, p11. 80 Richard Whittaker, “Remembering Anderson: What Not To Do,” Austin Chronicle, August 8, 2008, http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2008-08-08/658124/. 81 Travis County Deed Records, “Austin Independent School District to TEXANS CAN!,” July 25, 2003 (Instrument #2003226839). Section 8, Page 22 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Property Development History African Americans who moved to East Austin following the 1928 Master Plan petitioned the school board to for a new school in August of 1932. The city’s school superintendent was authorized to locate a former residence suitable for conversion into a school. It appears that the city incentivized the relocation of White residents out of East Austin through land exchanges. In September of that year, Mr. Charles Wendlandt (a White real estate agent) offered to sell a property, including a residence owned by a Mr. Eno Cassens (a White farmer of German descent), to the district for $800. In exchange, the city approved the sale of the former Wheatville School lot at 2500 Leon Street on the city’s west side to Cassens for a reduced price of $500. The purchase and exchange of the properties was completed by the end of 1932.82 Rosewood School opened in the fall of 1932, with children first attending in the former Cassens residence which was modified to serve as a temporary schoolhouse. The school board moved the former Wheatville School building to the Rosewood property by October of 1933. 83 As the student body expanded, in 1934 the school board suggested moving a structure from the House Park athletic facility to Rosewood Elementary to relieve overcrowding, although it is unclear if this was completed. The following year, the board purchased additional acreage for Rosewood School from Black resident Mattie Van Dyke.84 In 1936, after the school board received federal PWA funding for improvements, they hired White architects Giesecke & Harris to draw plans for a permanent school building on the campus. At that time, several of the buildings on the Rosewood campus, except for the former Wheatville building, were deeded to a Mr. Saul I. Wilson (a Black porter) in exchange for his agreement to sell his lots adjacent to Rosewood School to the school board.85 In 1936 the one-story, modest PWA Moderne school designed by Giesecke & Harris, with contractor John R. Bingham, was completed.86 Rosewood Elementary featured a handful of classrooms lining a central, double-loaded corridor and a simple entrance accessed via a small stoop on the north elevation. Several other school buildings were constructed concurrently throughout Austin, including the Becker School (906 W. Milton - extant) for White children and the Zavala School (310 Robert T. Martinez Jr. St. - extant) for Hispanic children, both of which were also designed by Giesecke & Harris.87 The Becker and Zavala Schools share similar design language in the modest PWA Moderne stylistic influence and the use of beige brick with cast stone ornament, however, they were both significantly larger, two- and three-story buildings with wider footprints (see Figure 17). The Becker School for White children had a prominent central entrance encased in cast stone ornament, while the Zavala School for Hispanic children had a simpler central entrance with modest decorative brickwork. New public housing developments and single-family homes increased the density, and therefore school-age population, of East Austin in the 1930s, necessitating the construction of two additions flanking either side of the original 1936 school, completed in 1939 (Figures 5-10, 16). The newly formed architecture firm Jessen & Jessen oversaw the additions under the supervision of the original architecture firm Giesecke & Harris (Figures 18-20, Photos 3, 6, and 12). A boiler house was also constructed on the north end of the school building at that time, also by Jessen & Jessen (Resource 2, Photo 13).88 The new additions were modest, one-story structures each housing two additional classroom units accessed via single-loaded corridors that connected to the main 1936 school unit. At that time, the 82 Austin Independent School District Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 83 Austin Independent School District Records. “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 84 Austin Independent School District Records. “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 85 AISD Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962;” U.S. Census Bureau, “Saul I. Wilson,” Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930; Austin, Travis, Texas; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0042; FHL microfilm: 2342135. 86 AISD Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 87 AISD, “Seventy-three Vital Years Public Education in Austin 1881-1954 - Volume 1,” 26. 88 Austin Independent School District Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” Section 8, Page 23 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas school district also relocated a one-room frame building from the Esperanza School (near present Koenig Lane and Allendale Road) following its annexation into the Austin School District, which was used as a lunchroom (not extant, see Figure 13). 89 Amid the post-war boom and growing school-age population of baby boomers, in 1950, the Austin school board approved preliminary plans to add a cafeteria-auditorium (cafetorium) addition to Rosewood Elementary. Once again, architects Jessen & Jessen (then practicing as Jessen, Jessen, Milhouse, & Greeven) were selected for the work, which was completed by 1951 (Figures 14, 21, 22 and Photos 4 and 5). The addition featured a cafeteria on the ground floor and three “temporary” classrooms on the second floor which were intended to later be converted to a gymnasium (Figures 21 and 22, Photos 20-22 ).90 In 1953 the board approved paving Rosewood Avenue adjacent to the school. 91 Despite the addition of the nearby Mary Jane Sims School in East Austin in 1955, Rosewood remained overcrowded. Thus, that year Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven were enlisted to design yet another addition of eight classrooms for Rosewood, completed in 1956. Several portable units were also added to the campus (no longer extant, see Figures 25-27, Photos 7-10). In 1970, the former Esperanza School building, which had originally served as a lunchroom at Rosewood School after being relocated to the property in the late 1930s, was deemed in poor condition and the school district placed the building for sale. It is unknown to whom the building was sold and if it is currently extant.92 Following the closure of the Booker T. Washington housing development across from Rosewood Elementary, enrollment cratered and the school closed. AISD converted the school into an alternative learning center and in 1985 several alterations were made before it reopened as the F. R. Rice Alternative Learning school in 1989.93 City construction permits indicate that in the mid-1980s through early 1990s HVAC was upgraded, some classrooms were remodeled into office spaces, irrigation was installed, and the open-air breezeway along the east side of the 1956 classroom and administrative addition was enclosed (Photos 9, 10, and 24).94 After the nonprofit TEXANS CAN! purchased the property in 2003, they completed several renovations, including changing out the boiler and installing upgraded HVAC. The following year, they upgraded and remodeled the cafetorium kitchen and in 2009 replaced the roof.95 Architects Giesecke & Harris The architecture firm of Giesecke & Harris was founded in 1921 by University of Texas classmates Bertram E. Giesecke and August Watkins Harris, Sr. The firm designed institutional, commercial, and residential buildings, although specialized in public schools. During the Great Depression, Giesecke & Harris designed numerous schools with PWA funds, including many in Austin. As World War II escalated in Europe, the firm dissolved in 1941 when 89 “Rosewood Elementary School – Vertical File,” Austin History Center. 90 Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven, “Rosewood School Addition - 1939 Plan Sheets,” available at the Austin History Center. 91 Austin Independent School District Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 92 Austin Independent School District Records, “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” 93 “AISD may use excess bond money for projects,” Austin American Statesmen, June 27, 1989, p11. 94 City of Austin Building Permit Records, “2406 Rosewood Avenue,” accessed February 18, 2015. https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/permit/public-search- other?t_detail=1&t_selected_folderrsn=3412766&t_selected_propertyrsn=714184. 95 City of Austin Building Permit Records, “2406 Rosewood Avenue;” Travis County Deed Records, “Austin Independent School District to TEXANS CAN!,” July 25, 2003 (Instrument #2003226839). Section 8, Page 24 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Harris enlisted in the U.S. Army. Giesecke later formed Giesecke, Kuehne and Brooks, while Harris co-founded a firm with his son William.96 Select projects: - Bryan Municipal Building (NRHP) - Brenham High School (NRHP) - Becker School, Austin (RTHL) - Mathews School Renovation, Austin (RTHL) - Zavala School, Austin - Santa Rita Courts, Austin - Austin High School Annex - Robert E. Lee Elementary School, Austin Jessen & Jessen/ Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven The architecture firm now known as Jessen & Associates was originally founded as Jessen & Jessen in 1938 by brothers Harold Everett “Bubi” Jessen and Wolf Ernest Jessen. The firm left a significant legacy in Texas, particularly in commercial, governmental, industrial, educational, religious, institutional, and residential projects. Both Bubi and Wolf were born and raised in Austin, Texas, and were alumni of the University of Texas (UT). Bubi, a graduate of UT in 1928, furthered his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he graduated in 1931. Prior to founding the firm with his brother, Bubi worked at C.H. Page and Son in Austin. Wolf graduated from UT in 1936, and soon after, the Jessen brothers established their practice. 97 The firm’s early work included projects like the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority House in Austin. In 1937, the firm became Jessen, Jessen & Millhouse, a partnership that continued until 1942, when all principals left for government or military service. Following World War II, in 1946 the firm restructured as Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven, continuing to complete significant projects for the State of Texas, including renovations to the Governor’s Mansion and the Texas Supreme Court building. During this period, both Bubi and Wolf Jessen also briefly taught at UT, while Alton E. Greeven and Conway Noren served as the firm’s chief draftspersons. Wolf Jessen was active in the architectural community, serving as president of the Austin Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1949. Bubi Jessen was president of the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners in 1956. Both brothers were active members of AIA and the Texas Society of Architects (TSA). 98 The firm's continued growth included the addition of Herbert C. Crume in 1957, who became a partner in the 1960s. In 1969, the firm merged with Day & Newman to form Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse, Greeven, Crume, Day & Newman, which later streamlined its name to Jessen & Associates in the 1970s. 99 Over the decades, Jessen & Associates established a prominent reputation for architectural excellence and played a vital role in shaping Texas’s architectural landscape. Selected Projects ● Leander High School ● Hillcrest Elementary ● University of Texas of the Permian Basin (master plan and design) ● Metallic Semiconductor Manufacturing Facility for Motorola (master plan), Austin 96 Bell, Cherise J. “Giesecke & Harris,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed February 14, 2025. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/giesecke-harris. 97 “Qualification Record of Jesse Jessen & Millhouse - Alton E. Greeves, Associated Architects,” March 19, 1946. 98 “Jessen & Jessen,” Texas Architect, November 12, 1989, p 59. 99 “Jessen & Jessen,” Texas Architect, November 12, 1989, p 59. Section 8, Page 25 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas ● Sull Ross, Alpine: Dormitory/Dining Hall, Library ● Abilene Christian College: Student Center, Coliseum ● Texas Tech, Lubbock: Swimming Facility ● Texas A&M Kingsville, multiple ● Baylor Fine Arts Center, Waco ● Austin Schools: ● William B. Travis High School ● David Crocket High School ● Winn Elementary ● Ortega Elementary ● Wooldridge Elementary Conclusion The functionally related complex of Rosewood Elementary School was first established in the 1930s as a direct result of the 1928 City of Austin Master Plan, which aimed to create a segregated city with African Americans relegated to the east side. The school was constructed in various phases beginning in 1936 and expanded as the needs of the student body grew and finances allowed for upgrades. The modest scale and simple ornamentation of the 1930s buildings reflect the economic realities of the Depression era, while the double loaded corridor configuration reflects early twentieth century trends in school design. Midcentury additions in 1951 and 1956 reflect the rapid growth of the student body following the post-war baby boom and were likely equalization efforts aimed at placating African Americans amid calls for integration. In the 1960s and 1970s as the federal government ramped up enforcement of desegregation, AISD closed or consolidate many formerly African American schools rather than require White children to attend them. Rosewood Elementary is thus one of the few historically segregated schools for African Americans that remains extant in the city and is thus a significant property that demonstrates the period of government- sponsored racial segregation in Austin’s public schools. The property is nominated under Criterion A in the areas of Education and Ethnic Heritage (Black) with a period of significance from 1936-1975. Section 8, Page 26 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Bibliography Allen, Leon Betram. Blacks in Austin. Self Published, 1989. Available at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin. Austin Independent School District Records. “Rosewood Elementary School 1926-1962.” Available at the Austin History Center. AR-2019-031, Box 5, Folder 14. _____. “Ten Years of Growth 1950-1960.” Austin Independent School District, November 1960. Available at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin. _____. “Seventy-three Vital Years Public Education in Austin 1881-1954 - Volume 1.” Centennial Committee on Instruction and Research: 1954. Available at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin. _____. “Seventy-three Vital Years Public Education in Austin 1881-1954 - Volume 2.” Centennial Committee on Instruction and Research: 1954. Available at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin. Baker, Lindsay. “A History of School Design and its Indoor Environmental Standards, 1900 to Today.” National Institute of the Building Sciences, January 2012. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED539480.pdf. Bell, Cherise J. “Giesecke & Harris.” Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/giesecke-harris. Brewer, J. Mason. An Historical Outline of The Negro in Travis County. Austin: Samuel Huston College, 1940. Available at the Austin History Center. City of Austin. “Rosewood Neighborhood Plan.” November 2001. Accessed February 14, 2025, https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Housing_%26_Planning/Adopted%20Neighborhood%20P lanning%20Areas/25_Rosewood/rosewood-np.pdf. Dasch, Rowena Houghton and Tara A. Dudley. Reckoning with the Past: Slavery, Segregation, and Gentrification in Austin. Neill-Cochran House Museum, 2021. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. “A Pictorial History of Austin, Travis County, Texas’ Black Community 1839-1920.” Available at the Austin History Center. Dobrasko, Rebekah. “Losing a Community Catalyst: The Closure of L.C. Anderson High School.” Preservation Austin. Accessed February 13, 2025, https://www.preservationaustin.org/news/losing-a-community-catalyst- the-closure-of-lc-anderson-high-school?rq=rosewood. Hicks and Company. African-American Settlement Survey, Travis County, Texas. October 2016. Accessed February 6, 2025. https://www.traviscountytx.gov/images/historical_commission/Doc/Histroical_Reports/african- american-settlement-survey.pdf. “Jessen & Jessen.” Texas Architect. November 12, 1989, p 59. Jessen & Jessen. “Rosewood School Addition - 1939 Plan Sheets.” Available at the Austin History Center. Section 9, Page 27 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven. “Rosewood School Addition - 1950 Plan Sheets.” Available at the Austin History Center. _____. “Additions to Rosewood School - 1955 Plan Sheets.” Available at the Austin History Center. Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. “Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 (1917).” Accessed December 3, 2025. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/245/60/. Knisely, Colette Rose. The Influence of Federal, State and Local Policies on School Desegregation in the Austin, Texas Independent School District (Thesis). University of Texas - Austin, 1978. McDonald, Jason. Racial Dynamics in Early Twentieth Century Austin, Texas. Lexington Books, 2012. McWhorter, Jeffrey. “The Boy From Booker T.” Texas Monthly. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/the-boy-from-booker-t/. National Association of Black Journalists. “NABJ Statement on Capitalizing Black and Other Racial Identifiers.” Accessed February 18, 2026. https://nabjonline.org/blog/nabj-statement-on-capitalizing-black-and-other- racial-identifiers/. “Qualification Record of Jesse Jessen & Millhouse - Alton E. Greeves, Associated Architects.” March 19, 1946. Available at the Austin History Center. Raven, Allison G. Separate but “Equitable”: Colorblind Progressivism and Resegregation in Austin Schools (Dissertation). Duke University: 2023. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/7c3eb444-13fe-4909-8795-0dbc87e56602/content. Rivera, Jane H.., Rivera, Gilberto C. Austin's Rosewood Neighborhood. United States: Arcadia Publishing, 2012. “Rosewood Elementary School – Vertical File.” Austin History Center. Travis County Historical Commission. African American Rural Schools in Travis County. 2014. Accessed February 6, 2025. https://www.traviscountytx.gov/images/historical_commission/Doc/Histroical_Reports/aa_rural_schools_30- 40.pdf. Travis County Deed Records. “Austin Independent School District to TEXANS CAN!,” July 25, 2003. (Instrument #2003226839). Wilson, Anna Victoria, Segall, William E. Oh, Do I Remember!: Experiences of Teachers During the Desegregation of Austin's Schools, 1964-1971 (Suny Series, Theory, Research, and Practice in Social Education). State University of New York Press, 2001. U.S. Census Bureau. “Saul I. Wilson.” Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930; Austin, Travis, Texas; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0042; FHL microfilm: 2342135. Available on Ancestry.com. Section 9, Page 28 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Newspapers — “25 Rosewood Students Receive Reading Awards.” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), June 19, 1954, p2. — “AISD may use excess bond money for projects.” Austin American Statesmen, June 27, 1989, p11. — “Busing.” Austin American Statesmen, October 28, 1979, pC8. — “Capital Librarian Attends Confab.” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), November 29, 1941, p6. — “Dedication Set Tonight at Oak Springs School.” Austin American Statesman, September 23, 1959, p2. — Evans, Roxanne. “Conversion mulled at Rosewood School.” Austin American Statesmen, June 10, 1985, p13. — “Grave Chapel is Setting on Christmas Evening for Norton-Hazley Rites.” The Informer (Houston), December 31, 1938, p5. — “Housing Project funds sought for renovation.” Austin American Statesman, August 1, 1985, p46. — “Negro Elected County Party Committeeman.” The Austin American Statesman, April 25, 1948, p1. — “Radio Series Set by School Pupils.” Austin American Statesman, November 12, 1952, p13. — “Rice Declines State Office.” The Kansas City Call, December 7, 1945, pA12. — “Rosewood School Has Final PTA Meeting.” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), May 30, 1942, p8. — “Rosewood School Scouts Sell Defense Stamps.” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), May 30, 1942, p8. — “Rosewood Negro School Opens with 19 Enrolled.” Austin American Statesman, September 29, 1932, p14. — “Schools Near 25,000 Mark.” The Austin American Statesman, January 23, 1955, p1. — “Senior High Students Due to Enroll Today.” Austin American Statesman, August 29, 1961, p17. — “They Help Scouts.” Austin American Statesmen, February 11, 1960, p30. — Walls, Ellie Alma. “Facts and Figures.” The Informer and Texas Freeman (Houston), March 26, 1949, p17. — Whittaker, Richard. “Remembering Anderson: What Not To Do.” Austin Chronicle, August 8, 2008, http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2008-08-08/658124/. City of Austin Building Permit Records - Permit/Case 1985-006641 BP, Renovate And Addition or Corridor - Permit/Case 1989-008472 MP Temporary Portable Classroom Unit - Permit/Case 1991-011192 MP, Install Walk in Cooler Commercial - Permit/Case 1991-005267 MP Remodel/Addn To Rice Elementary School - Permit/Case 1991-008550 EP, To Finish out Rice Elementary School - Permit/Case 2009-128103 PR, Reroof existing Educational Facility overlay of all sections of building - Permit/Case 2014-038706 PR, Interior Remodel to Existing Public School. Site plan by Robert Heil for Texas Can School. - Permit/Case 2015-004810 PR Interior remodel to existing Public Educational Facility. - Permit/Case 2018-018878 BP Replace all Exterior Windows (212 Windows) at an Existing Educational Facility Section 9, Page 29 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas MAPS Map 1: Travis County, Texas in red Map 2: Rosewood Elementary School (red star) shown on USGS topographic map of East Austin (2013). Section MAP, Page 30 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 3. Austin, Rosewood Elementary School 30.272468° -97.708983°. Courtesy of Google Earth. Section MAP, Page 31 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 4. Aerial of Rosewood Elementary School campus showing construction history, courtesy of Google Earth (accessed February 10, 2025). Section MAP, Page 32 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 5. Aerial photograph showing Rosewood Elementary School within broader City of Austin context, courtesy of Google Earth (accessed February 17, 2025). Section MAP, Page 33 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 6. Aerial photograph showing historically segregated African American schools in Austin (not exhaustive), courtesy of Google Earth (accessed February 17, 2025). Section MAP, Page 34 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 7: Black freedom communities and enclaves in Austin prior to the 1928 Master Plan, courtesy of Riseatx.org. Section MAP, Page 35 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 8: 1900 Census enumeration map with overlay showing the demographic makeup of the city at that time. White Austinites are depicted in red, Black Austinites are depicted in blue. Note that at that time there were several Black enclaves, but Black Austinites were generally dispersed throughout the city. Courtesy of https://ctxretold.org/black- communities/mapping-the-city/. Section MAP, Page 36 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 9: 1940 Census enumeration map with overlay showing the demographic makeup of the city at that time. White Austinites are depicted in red, Black Austinites are depicted in blue. Note that following the 1928 Master Plan and the concentration of all public resources for African Americans on the east side, outside of the Clarksville enclave most African Americans had relocated to East Austin. Courtesy of https://ctxretold.org/black-communities/mapping-the- city/. Section MAP, Page 37 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 10. Existing site plan (2013), courtesy Construction Concepts, Inc. Section MAP, Page 38 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 11: The nominated boundary is the legal parcel as recorded by Travis CAD, Property ID# 197732. Note the legal acreage (1.38 acres) differs from the actual acreage (3.15 acres). Source travis.polycad.com/maps (12/1/2025) Section MAP, Page 39 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas FIGURES Figure 1: 1937 aerial photograph showing the original 1936 Rosewood Elementary School building courtesy of HistoricAerials.com. The small structure to the northwest of the school building is likely the former Wheatville School that was moved to the site prior to the completion of the brick Rosewood School. Note that the surrounding area is largely undeveloped, save for scattered residences, at that time. FIGURE, Page 40 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 2. 1952 aerial photograph showing the Rosewood Elementary School parcel, courtesy of USGS Earth Explorer. A frame structure sat to the north of the easternmost 1939 addition, likely the building moved from the Esperanza School (no longer extant). Note the newly built Booker T. Washington Terraces public housing development to the south and increased residential development on surrounding blocks. FIGURE, Page 41 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 3: Ca. 1950s plat map showing Rosewood School with 1939 and 1950 additions. FIGURE, Page 42 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 4: 1966 aerial photograph showing the Rosewood Elementary School parcel, courtesy of USGS Earth Explorer. Note the 1956 addition at the south end of the parcel facing Rosewood Avenue. The paved basketball/sport court at the northeast end of the parcel was also added to the site by that time. FIGURE, Page 43 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 5: Ca. 1939 photograph showing the easternmost classroom addition by Jessen & Jessen, supervised by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Austin History Center Figure 6: Ca. 1939 photograph showing the easternmost classroom addition by Jessen & Jessen, supervised by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Austin History Center FIGURE, Page 44 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 7. Ca. 1939 photograph showing the easternmost classroom addition by Jessen & Jessen, supervised by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Austin History Center Figure 8. Ca. 1939 photograph showing the classroom addition interior and built-in wood cabinets by Jessen & Jessen, supervised by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Austin History Center FIGURE, Page 45 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 9. Ca. 1939 photograph showing the interior of the classroom addition with wood floors, trim, and built-in cabinets by Jessen & Jessen, supervised by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Austin History Center Figure 10. Ca. 1939 photograph showing the classroom addition with partially glazed doors and transoms, blackboards, and original lighting by Jessen & Jessen, supervised by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 46 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 11: Undated (c. 1940s) photograph of Rosewood School choir, courtesy of Rosewood Neighborhood book, Images of America series. Figure 12: Undated (c. 1940s) photograph of Rosewood School choir, courtesy of Rosewood Neighborhood book, Images of America series. FIGURE, Page 47 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 13: Undated (c. 1940s) photograph of Rosewood School students, courtesy of Rosewood Neighborhood book, Images of America series. Frame building at background left was likely the building relocated from the Esperanza school. It is no longer extant. Figure 14: October 1950 photograph showing the construction of the cafetorium addition, courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 48 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 15: F. R. Rice, acting principal of Rosewood School from 1936 to 1948. Courtesy of Brewer, “A Pictorial and Historical Souvenir of Negro Life in Austin, Texas 1950-1951.” FIGURE, Page 49 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 16: Rosewood students in front of what is either the original entrance on the north elevation of the 1936 school or one of the southern entrances of the 1939 additions. Courtesy of the Austin American Statesman, October 6, 1955, p23. FIGURE, Page 50 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 17: 1939 photograph of Becker School for White children, also designed by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Portal to Texas History FIGURE, Page 51 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 18. 1st Floor - 1939 Additions. Jessen & Jesson architects supervised by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 52 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 19. Exterior elevations (North, South, West, Courtyard) - 1939 Additions. Jessen & Jesson architects supervised by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 53 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 20. Exterior elevation (East) and Design Details - 1939 Additions. Jessen & Jesson architects supervised by Giesecke & Harris. Courtesy of Austin History Center. Note the Streamline Moderne decorative brickwork and curved iron stair rail. FIGURE, Page 54 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 21. 1st Floor - 1950 Cafetorium Addition. Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven architects. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 55 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 22. 2nd Floor - 1950 Cafetorium Addition. Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven architects. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 56 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 23. 1st Floor - 1955-1956 Classroom Addition. Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven architects. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 57 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 24. 2nd Floor - 1955-1956 Classroom Addition. Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven architects. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 58 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 25. Basement - 1955-1956 Classroom Addition. Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven architects. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 59 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 26. Exterior Elevations (North and South) - 1955-1956 Classroom Addition. Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven architects. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 60 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 27. Exterior Elevations (West) - 1955-1956 Classroom Addition and South Elevation of Office Hyphen. Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven architects. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 61 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 28. Exterior Elevations (North Elevation of Office Hyphen) and Section of 1956 Addition. Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven architects. Courtesy of Austin History Center. FIGURE, Page 62 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas PHOTOS Photo 1. North elevation showing 1936 original school building (background center), 1939 boiler house (foreground left), and 1951 cafetorium (right). View south. Photo 2. 1939 boiler house (left), 1936 original school and historic entrance (center), and 1951 cafetorium (right). View southeast. Section PHOTO, Page 63 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 3. Connection between 1936 original school and easternmost 1939 addition with 1940 boiler house at right. View southeast. Photo 4. View of brick detail and inset tiles on original 1936 school, view southeast. Section PHOTO, Page 64 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 5. Current (2025) student entrance to school at north end of 1951 cafetorium addition. View southwest. Photo 6. Kitchen portion at west end of 1956 cafetorium addition, altered c.1985. View southeast. Section PHOTO, Page 65 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 7. 1956 cafetorium addition (left) and westernmost 1939 addition (right). View northeast. Photo 8. Westernmost 1939 addition (left, foreground), and 1956 classroom/ administrative addition. View southeast. Section PHOTO, Page 66 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 9. Retaining wall and 1956 classroom/ administrative addition. View northeast. Photo 10. Southeast elevation of the 1956 classroom/ administrative addition showing enclosed breezeway. View west. Section PHOTO, Page 67 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 11. 1956 administrative hyphen connecting 1956 classroom to 1936 main school and easternmost 1939 addition. View northwest. Photo 12. Entrance to administrative spaces in 1956 hyphen. View northwest. Section PHOTO, Page 68 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 13. East elevation of easternmost 1939 addition. View northwest. Photo 14. Detail of brick corbelling, curved metal rail, and PWA plaque at corner entrance of easternmost 1939 addition. View south. Section PHOTO, Page 69 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 15. 1939 Boiler House. View southeast. Photo 16. 1959 sport court from surface parking lot at north end of parcel. View northeast. Section PHOTO, Page 70 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 17. Corridor and stairs looking towards current (2025) student entrance on north elevation of 1956 cafetorium addition. View east Photo 18. Single loaded corridor in westernmost 1939 addition with original terrazzo. View south. Section PHOTO, Page 71 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 19. Typical classroom with extant, original, built-in wood cabinetry in 1936 original school. View southeast. Photo 20. Double loaded corridor in 1936 original school with original terrazzo floors. View east. Section PHOTO, Page 72 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 21. Cafetorium looking towards elevated stage platform. View northeast. Section PHOTO, Page 73 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 22. Vertical circulation to 2nd floor of 1951 cafetorium. View southwest. Section PHOTO, Page 74 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 23. Typical classroom on 2nd floor of 1951 cafetorium addition. View southwest. Photo 24. Administrative offices in 1956 classroom addition. View southwest. Section PHOTO, Page 75 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 25. Former open-air breezeway/corridor and staircase along east elevation of 1956 classroom addition. View west. Photo 26. Typical classroom space on 2nd floor of 1956 classroom addition. View northwest. Section PHOTO, Page 76 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Rosewood Elementary School, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 27. Representative former restroom with original ceramic tile on 2nd floor of 1956 classroom addition. View east. Section PHOTO, Page 77 SBR Draft