Woodrow Wilson High School
TexasWoodrow Wilson High School opened its doors in September 1928. Architects Roscoe P. Dewitt and Mark Lemmon created a grand three-story, Jacobean-style structure which has played a key role in defining the identity and traditions of East Dallas. Recognized historic districts that surround Woodrow include Swiss Avenue, Munger Place, Junius Heights, and Lakewood. The Hollywood Heights/Santa Monica Conservation District is also nearby.
Located on a 6.5-acre tract in the heart of Dallas` most historic area, Woodrow Wilson features a figure-eight design, with two inner courtyards that provided ventilation for the adjacent interior classrooms until the installation of air conditioning in 1971. The interior is open and expansive with four wide staircases (occurring in two pairs). It has a three-story auditorium with 1,200 opera chairs, and a third-story cafeteria wrapped in high windows and crowned with skylights. A second gymnasium was added in 1953 and in 1979 a fine arts wing was constructed.
This majestic structure welcomes students, faculty, and visitors with a distinctive entrance. The center portion of the building`s front projects forward and is treated with variegated Bedford and Indiana stone trim at the window sills, head and jamb, entry arches, corner quoins, balustrades, and coping at the roofline. The school`s interior walls are clad with beige-brown Herringbone tile, made by Merwin Manufacturing Company in Erie, Pennsylvania. Almost all of the woodwork, doors, and cabinetry remain intact.
Woodrow Wilson High School has been recognized as a Dallas Landmark, a Recorded Texas State Historical Landmark, and it is listed in The American Institute of architects Guide to Dallas Architecture.
PRESERVATION PROJECTS
Throughout Woodrow`s 73-year history, there has been a passionate heritage of preservation. Other schools of similar age in the Dallas Independent School District have been closed because of poor condition, or stripped of their beautyo by the removal of original features. A fearless librarian, the PTA, the Site Based Decision-Making Council (SBDM), a caring constituency of neighborhood residents, devoted alumni, and student groups have fought to retain the school`s formidable grace. Today all changes to the school must be approved in advance by the SBDM facilities committee.
In 1976 the school district proposed closing Woodrow. The Board of Education had decided that the building was too old to maintain and Funds could be redistributed to help support new schools located outside of the community. Neighborhood parents rallied to organize a petition to stop the closing. The school not only provided an outstanding education; it had become an icon for a historical presence within a major urban center.
The first PTA formed a tree-planting committee during the fall of 1928 that began a landscaping tradition at Woodrow. In November 2000, a PTA committee executed a plan to restore original landscaping based on old photographs. More than 120 wintergreen and Japanese boxwood trees were planted in the front and side flowerbeds of the school; shrubs, border plants, and stones will be added. During 2000, parents, faculty, and students joined forces with the school district and the park board to revitalize Randall Park which is across from the school, where school athletic and ROTC fields are located.
A landscaping project named for a 1935 Woodrow graduate named Juanita Antoine McCormick was undertaken in 1998 by the Class of 2000. They decided to renovate an interior courtyard area that had become an eyesore into a tranquil oasis for all to enjoy. This tremendous effort was in celebration of the school`s seventieth anniversary. The Antoine Courtyard began in September 1998 and was completed in July 1999, with a formal dedication and reception in August.
Another preservation project involves hundreds of trophies earned by students over the years. Parent volunteers and area Scouts carefully polish these ornate trophies which are displayed in the original oak and glass cases. Every sport, band, choir, and academic honor is proudly represented to emphasize the tradition of achievement at Woodrow.
COMMUNITY
Woodrow is the source of several annual neighborhood traditions: the fall Homecoming Parade and community pep rally, the spring Broadway musical production, and the golf tournament organized by Heisman Trophy winner and Woodrow alumnus Tim Brown. This year Woodrow is included in the Swiss Avenue Historic District`s Tour of Homes.
But Woodrow isn`t just defined by its past. Like many inner-city schools, Woodrow has a multi-cultural population which reflects of the rich diversity of East Dallas. From millionaires to recent immigrants, Woodrow is a place for all children to learn, explore, and grow into contributing members of the new global community.
For more information contact:
Kathy Glenn, Chairman
PR Committee
WWHS Site Based Decision Making Council
6410 Lakeshore Drive
Dallas, TX 75214
214/821-3268
kathyglenn@hotmail.com
