Old John Hay School:

There is good news and bad news about the old John Hay School at 4th Ave. N. and Boston St. Countless grads of the old 1905 wooden building will be pleased to know that work is complete on replacing the original exterior siding with new cedar lap siding. The wooden windows were also removed, refurbished and reinstalled. The exterior paint is now a light gray with white trim and burgundy accents (see photo at right). These colors were chosen to match what is believed to be the original colors of the 100-year-old, landmarked school. The work was funded by the voters in the February, 2004 School Capital Levy. Considerable work has also been completed by a neighborhood support group, Friends of Old Hay, using donations and City Dept. of Neighborhoods grant money, to upgrade the school grounds to create garden spaces, a giant chess board and a basketball court.

The bad news is that the future of both the old building and of the 1922 brick building is unknown. The school district is under pressure to cut costs by closing the facility and either mothballing the school or leasing it out. The current school using old Hay, the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center, will be there for at least the next two years. Hay is the last historic school building on Queen Anne or Magnolia in active use as a school.

The school was named for John Hay (1838-1905), Secretary of State under William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

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Photos:top right (2005) - John Hennes
lower left (2002)- Bruce Jones
lower right (1905)- MOHAI Pemco & Webster collection

Click on lower left photo to see a larger view of the school building in 2003

Detailed School History and Profile