This history of Edison Technical School is taken from the second edition of Building for Learning: Seattle Public School Histories, which includes histories of every school building used by the district since its formation around 1862. The original essay was written for the 2002 first edition by Nile Thompson and Carolyn J. Marr, and updated for the 2024 edition by HistoryLink contributor Ryan Anthony Donaldson.
Famous Namesake
In 1920, the Seattle School District purchased six-tenths of an acre across E Olive Street from Broadway High School to allow for expansion of the site. The Broadway High School Annex was opened in 1921 to house vocational or technical education classes (i.e., auto mechanics, machine shop, sheet metal, electricity, woodworking, and printing) that had been in the main high school building. The newly vacated space in the main building was then used for classes previously held in seven portables located across Broadway in Lincoln Playfield.
Nine years later the annex building was expanded by adding a third floor and became the chief building for the new Thomas A. Edison Vocational School. The school was officially named on May 9, 1930, after the famous inventor whose life exemplified the practical applications of learning. The vocational school opened with an enrollment of 75. During the Depression, many of the students were high school graduates hoping to improve their chances for employment with training in automobile mechanics in Broadway High School’s old auto shop, electrical trades, and many other fields.
The district leased a building at 1826 Broadway for welding classes in March 1938. By May 1942, the Edison Welding Shop was at 1828 1/2 Broadway as well as 1516 12th Avenue. The latter site was used through the end of World War II. Through the years, classes at Edison were added and discontinued in response to economic and social needs. Prior to World War II, a training program for aircraft workers was launched. By 1941, it was a full-fledged war production program. In 1949, the Aircraft Branch of Edison Technical School was moved to portable buildings located in Georgetown. The Edison building was remodeled and doubled in size in 1942, with 16 new rooms housing home service and culinary trades departments. Edison Technical provided a broad range of practical training in full and part-time classes, both day and evening.
Training for Veterans
In March 1943, the district announced, "Servicemen who come home broken in body will find a rehabilitation program waiting for them at Edison Vocational School … The school will have facilities for hundreds of them to come and build themselves mentally and physically for a useful life." In October 1945, it was said that everyone from teenaged bobby soxers to veterans and gray-haired grandmothers jammed night classes, boosting enrollment at Broadway-Edison Evening School to a new high of 3,000, with many looking to complete their high school education.
During its many years of operation, Edison utilized several buildings throughout the city to accommodate its varied programs. Some programs were housed in schools that had been vacated while others were in donated space.
Broadway High School was closed in June 1946 and the school building was incorporated into Edison. The old high school building was renamed the South Building. The Edison Building was renamed the North Building and housed the Offices for the Vocational Education Division. Edison also occupied the Building Trades Unit at the old Rainier School, the Holgate Branch (formerly Duwamish Bend/Holgate School), the Boat shop, and the second Central school (used for other vocational classes).
Tuition in 1946 was $2 per quarter. In 1947, an English for Foreigners class was established for immigrants from Greece, China, and Norway. In 1949, the building on East Olive was expanded by 15 rooms to include the remainder of the entire block facing Harvard Avenue. With a new street address at 1711 Harvard, Edison had an enrollment of 1,550 in full-time day courses and about 7,000 in evening classes. Its newly expanded facility included a two-ward “hospital” that allowed students to train as practical nurses. Another improvement was the upgrading of radio and electronics laboratories where students learned to construct television sets. Other study areas included tailoring, dry cleaning, and advertising art. The Edison Technical School received national recognition as one of the top training centers in the nation for its flexible and comprehensive vocational program. By 1963-1964, daytime enrollment exceeded 2,000 students.
In 1954, the KCTS Channel 9 television station established its first transmitter at Edison. The tower was paid for by the station and the station’s license was held in trust for the community by the University of Washington. Television students built a studio in a vacant building on 15th Avenue NE. In 1965, KCTS built new transmitter facilities, so the original transmitter was no longer needed. The University of Washington sold the tower back to the district in 1966 and it remained on the Edison building so the district could continue to enjoy broadcasting privileges. Later in 1966, Edison became part of Seattle Community College. The following year its administration was transferred, along with most of the branch sites, to the State of Washington. The Edison Building still stands today, integrated into the Seattle Central Community College structure.
History
Broadway High School Annex
Location: 811 E Olive
Building: 2-story brick
Architect: n.a.
Site: 0.55 acres
1921: Opened in September
1930: Third floor added; opened in September as Edison Building of Thomas A. Edison Vocational School
1942: Addition (n.a.)
1946: Renamed North Building of Broadway-Edison Technical School; site expanded to
1.23 acres
1949: Addition (n.a.); name shortened to Edison Technical School
1966: Part of Seattle Community College
1967: Transferred to state on July 1
