Razing Objections

Washington Irving Elementary School is hardly noticeable amid the metallic clutter; it actually could pass for just another warehouse.

By Joetta L. Sack

Hammond, Ind.

The short drive down state Route 41, four lanes of flat concrete trailing off the interstate, leads to a jumble of car lots, fast-food restaurants, dollar stores, and strip malls, with a backdrop of warehouses, factories, and storage tanks. The turn onto Chicago Avenue reveals the nucleus of this industrial town: shuttered businesses and dozens of tired-looking little houses, with layers of dust from the factories and the trucks that rule this road. Washington Irving Elementary School is hardly noticeable amid the metallic clutter; with its tarred Chicago-blond brick and patched steel windows, it actually could pass for just another warehouse.

Only upon a second glance does it show a hint of its remarkable architectural pedigree. Bordering its flat roof is a row of glazed terra-cotta tiles, with intricate brickwork visible despite the soiled facade.

The Chicago-based architect George Grant Elmslie, a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright and a master of Prairie-style architecture, designed the 1937 school building. But soon, Elmslie's handiwork may be gone. The community, educators, and school board here want to tear the building down and replace it with a modern structure that will meet the needs of their students, requirements that have changed drastically since the school's construction during...