Salt Lake City, UT

(Associated names include Waterloo School and Whittier Elementary)

Jobsite

Utah had been a state for only 14 years when the Whittier School was constructed to replace the nearby crumbling Waterloo School, which had been built in 1894.  In 1924, the old Waterloo School building was demolished and replaced with the northern addition to the Whittier School.  Named after the Civil War-era poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, the building remained in use until 2001, when the building was demolished and a new building was erected at the same location.  

Address or general location

1600 South (Bryan Avenue) 300 East, Salt Lake City

(West Valley City and Logan, Utah, also had elementary schools named Whittier Elementary which were built in the early 1900s)

Detail

Many an oral history of residents of Salt Lake City include a reference to their having attended the Whittier School located at 1600 South (Bryan Avenue) and 300 East.  With Utah’s recent statehood status and Salt Lake City’s growing population, Whittier’s predecessor, Waterloo School, was unable to accommodate the increasing number of children needing schooling.  The Waterloo School building, which was built in 1894, was not only too small (a 4-room, two-story building), it was in poor condition and beyond renovation.  In 1910, the Whittier School was constructed next door to the old Waterloo School and, with its fifteen rooms, was better able to accommodate the needs of the community.

In 1924, the old Waterloo School building was demolished and the northern addition of the Whittier School was added.  In 2001, the Salt Lake School District voted to demolish the building and replace it with a new one.  The new school, Whittier Elementary School, currently has an attendance of over 650 students.