UPDATE 11/10/21:Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey to identify historically significant schools. Preservation Maryland, through a grant from the Maryland Historical Trust’s Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant program, is working with our consultant at Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. to conduct a Study to document the architecture and history of public K-12 schools built in Maryland before 1980. The request for submissions yielded close to 100 responses identifying over 100 unique schools around Maryland. We thank everyone who participated for helping to strengthen this project which will provide a framework for evaluating the architectural and historic significance of the state’s public schools and a roadmap for future preservation activities. We will keep you updated on this project through our newsletter and social media.
Preservation Maryland is conducting a study to document the architecture and history of public K-12 schools built in Maryland before 1980. Maryland’s historic schools tell a profound story about the history of our state and are intrinsically interconnected with the communities in which they reside. The structures themselves are the physical vestiges and reminders of how we have approached education and grappled with complex and challenging issues, from managing growth to racial integration and beyond. This project will provide a framework for evaluating the architectural and historic significance of the state’s public schools and a roadmap for future preservation activities.
Maryland is poised to spend several billion dollars on school construction in the coming decade. This funding will remake the landscape of school buildings in a manner previously unknown. Without an understanding of the significance and value of these buildings, advocates and community members will not have the necessary information to help shape the coming conversations about demolition, retrofits and rehabs. This project comes at a critical moment and will help save countless structures while helping place these resources in the broader context of the history of the state.
You can contribute to the success of this project by helping us identify historically significant schools.
Please complete the short survey linked above by November 5. These may be schools that are strong examples of an architectural style, schools built as part of planned post-World War II communities, schools designed by an early female or minority architect, schools that tell the history of racial integration, or schools important for any other reason. We are particularly interested in schools built after World War II through the 1970s, schools that tell underrepresented histories.
This project is funded by the Maryland Historical Trust’s Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant program and our consultant is Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc.