William Syphax School

William Syphax School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	1360 Half St., SW Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°52′33″N 77°0′31″W / 38.87583°N 77.00861°WCoordinates: 38°52′33″N 77°0′31″W / 38.87583°N 77.00861°W
Built	1901
Architect	Marsh & Peter
Architectural style	Colonial Revival
MPS	Public School Buildings of Washington, DC MPS
NRHP Reference #	03000672 [1]
Added to NRHP	July 25, 2003

William Syphax School, now known as Syphax Village, is an historic structure located in the Southwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

History

The William Syphax School historically served African American students. It was named for William Syphax, the first president of the Board of Trustees of Colored Schools of Washington and Georgetown.^[2] He supported the notion of a unified public school system and supported equal educational standards. He was responsible for the construction of the Charles Sumner School and the Thaddeus Stevens School. The building was completed in 1901 and was expanded in 1941 and again in 1953. It ceased serving as a school in 1994. Three years later, residents complained that it had become a drug market and crack house.^[3] The Southwest Neighborhood Assembly began to aggressively seek out a developer and found one, which purchased the school in 1999. The old school building was officially declared a historic landmark in 2003, but the newer buildings were razed starting in 2001. Manna redeveloped the school building into a condominium development, which opened in 2005 as Syphax Village.^[4] its closed an now is a condo location.

Architecture

The building was designed in the Colonial Revival style and was commissioned by the D.C. Office of the Building Inspector. It was designed by the architectural firm of Marsh & Peter. Municipal Architect Nathan C. Wyeth designed the 1941 addition. The original building is two and a half stories and is topped with a hipped roof. The exterior features a red brick façade arched windows and white terra cotta trim. The additions are also covered in red brick, but have flat roofs, multi-paned windows and limestone trim.^[2]

References

1. National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Preservation. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
3. Fleishman, Sandra (13 May 2000). "Reading, 'Riting And Redevelopment". Retrieved 25 May 2016.
4. "Syphax Village". Manna DC. Retrieved 2011-11-23.