Opened in 1915 to designs by William B. Ittner, Mullanphy Elementary School is one of the few buildings left in the St. Louis Public School District that is close to full enrollment.
W.C. Person, Mullanphy School, 4221 Shaw Boulevard. ca. 1920. Missouri History Museum. N33281
When it opened, the neighborhood around it was first being filled in, when it was considered “suburban,” and I’m sure just like today, on the edges of the region, young families were sending their children to the new school from homes that were just as new down the street.
It’s a great example of the Tudor Revival, that style that reflects the passage of England from the Medieval Age into the Renaissance, during the reigns of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.
There are schools in England that look just like this, but Ittner and Rockwell Milligan, his collaborator, also designed many schools that reflected other styles, as well.
As we see in many of their schools, there is no central entrance, but two twin entrances on either side of an invisible bisymmetrical dividing line.
Jefferson School in Normandy is an Ittner-Milligan design. They all look so similar. Beautiful, though.
I need to check that one out! They’re usually associated with SLPS, but they obviously designed schools outside of the City.
We are from rural St. Charles County but our daughter lives in Shaw, so your guides to the neighborhood have been invaluable.
Thanks for reading! I’ve discovered a newfound love for the backroads of St. Charles County in the last couple of years.