This 1911 photo of West Woodland Grade School is courtesy Seattle Public Schools. The school originally faced west, with the front entrance on 5th Ave NW. That portion of the street is now the current school’s play field. Notice the trolley line in front of the school. The West Woodland Line came in from Fremont and brought teachers right to the school’s front doors.
The original brick building, which opened in 1910, was demolished 80 years later in 1990. Thank you to Vern Vellat, West Woodland Alumni – Class of 1941, for the demolition photo dated April 1990. Many current and former students showed up to watch the school come down. People cried openly as they watched the wrecking ball take out windows and walls. Their much loved school turned into a pile of rubble.
Vern was able to bring home a brink from the school which he keeps on his desk. Linda Scheiber, parent of several West Woodland Alumni, shared that neighbors claimed bricks, pieces of decorative concrete, and even plants that once surrounded the building as mementos of the much loved school. Linda took large chunks of the school’s decorative facade and created a bench, which can be seen in her front yard on 6th Ave NW.
While the building no longer stands, it is nice to know it continues to live on in a second life and in warm memories.
The current West Woodland Elementary School, facing 4th Ave NW, opened in 1991.
