Filed Under African American

Washington Graded And High School

This was the first public high school for African Americans in Raleigh and continued as the only such school until 1953. Many influential members of the Raleigh African American community were Washington High School graduates. The building is an example of the Jacobean style popular for school buildings in the 1920s. The architect, C. A. Gadsden Sayre, who was noted for his school designs, employed a sophisticated combination of stone and glazed terra cotta accents on the brick structure. The building now houses the Washington Gifted and Talented Elementary Magnet School of the Wake County Public School System.

Date: 1923-1924; 1927; 1948-1950; 1996

Images

Washington Graded and High School, 2011
Washington Graded and High School, 2011 Image courtesy of D. Strevel, Capital City Camera Club.
Washington Graded and High School, 2011
Washington Graded and High School, 2011 Detail. Image courtesy of D. Strevel, Capital City Camera Club.
Washington Graded and High School, 1980
Washington Graded and High School, 1980 Image by Michael Zirkle Photography, copyright Raleigh Historic Development Commission.
Washington Graded and High School, date unknown
Washington Graded and High School, date unknown Image courtesy of "Washington Grade and High School, Raleigh, Wake County," NC Architects/Builders Biographical Dictionary Project Collection, Betsy Ross Design, Raleigh, NC.
Washington Graded and High School, circa 2001
Washington Graded and High School, circa 2001 Image courtesy of Preservation North Carolina.

Location

1000 Fayetteville Street

Metadata

RHDC, “Washington Graded And High School,” Raleigh Historic, accessed May 12, 2024, https://raleighhistoric.org/items/show/93.