McKinley School (Park Street Baptist Church)
The Park Street Baptist Church is housed in the building that was originally the McKinley School, which closed in 1985. The first McKinley School was built in 1903 and destroyed by fire in 1919. Unlike most other schools destroyed or affected by fire, the McKinley was not immediately replaced due to lack of funds. For the next several years students were transferred to other schools in the area including Lincoln, Washington, and Garfield. Younger students were sent to area churches which offered rooms.
In 1926, the original stone foundation and first floor walls, which remained standing after the fire, were used to rebuild the structure, reopening for the 1928-1929 school year.
In 1969, when the Catholic elementary schools closed, many of the students affected by the closure went to McKinley and Lincoln schools and McKinley was considered one of the larger schools in the district. However, over the next 20 years the school’s population declined due to the opening of the junior high schools (East Junior High in 1957, and West Junior High in 1969), leading to its eventual closure.
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