This history of Loyal Heights Elementary 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 Casey McNerthney.
Ballard Legend
Local Ballard legend holds that Harry Whitney Treat, a prominent landowner, donated five acres to the district “with the condition that a school be built and named after his daughter Loyal.” District records from the 1930s, however, indicate that the land was, in fact, purchased. The original Loyal Heights School consisted of portables and functioned as an annex to Webster School, serving grades 1-3 during 1919-1928. Initially, there were two portables, one a classroom and the other a “Play Portable.” The portables featured “box furniture,” benches made from rough planks supported on apple boxes. Orange crates became bookshelves. Coat hooks ran down one wall and across the back of the room. Hooks near the coal-burning stove were used to dry wet clothing. The lavatories were outside. The school nurse, Rene Myhre, is said to have been the first nurse in the district. No roads served the school, so children walked on trails through the dense woods. Hills and deep ravines crossed the school property. In the early days, boys had to clear away brush and level off an area for a ballfield. In 1919, a five-room portable to be constructed by the shop department was approved by the Board of Directors. A report issued for 1924-1927 calls Loyal Heights “an example of the new type of temporary building developed by the building committee” and describes it as having three buildings. In 1931-1932, the school had eight rooms for grades 1-6.
Once roads were built, the property was leveled in preparation for a new building. The permanent Loyal Heights School was designed in 20th Century Georgian style and comprised 10 classrooms. Following the opening of the new building in 1932, much effort was put into the beautification of the grounds. Cherry trees were donated by Loyal Treat Nichols for the first Arbor Day. She also donated two tapestries, depicting Romulus and Remus, that were hung in the auditorium.
It wasn’t long before the student body outgrew the school, and portables came into use. In 1946, a six-room wing was added, in- cluding a gymnasium, art room, and library. Enrollment exceeded 450, with over 100 pupils in kindergarten. The two new kindergarten rooms were housed in a separate unit, with their own lavatories, cloak rooms, private entrance, and a fenced off blacktop play yard. Ronald Pickett, who taught physical education, became the school’s first male instructor.
In 1956, The Seattle Times called the Loyal Heights playground a “portable maze” and published a photo showing the seven tempo- rary structures needed to house the overflow of students. To alleviate crowding there and at Crown Hill, North Beach School was opened in September 1958. However, Loyal Heights remained overcrowded as older students were added to the student body because of over-enrollment at Monroe Junior High.
In 1959, the older students left to attend the new Whitman Junior High, and enrollment dropped from 733 to 431. Soon afterward, 80 African American students were bused in from the Central Area as part of the district’s desegregation plan. By late 1973, enrollment was down to 250, and the community became concerned that the school might close. Their fears were realized in spring 1976 when the board announced that Loyal Heights and four other schools would close. A resulting lawsuit led to the reopening of all five schools in September 1976, and a seismic upgrade was done in 1979.
In the early 2000s, Loyal Heights students benefitted from a new playground and upgraded computer equipment. Pupils in grades 1-4 could choose classes that included a mix of grade levels, which offered flexible grouping and encouraged cooperative learning. New programs included music and integrated arts.
Landmark Status
In 2014, Loyal Heights was nominated and received landmark status. The features to be preserved included the site, the exteriors of the 1932 building and 1946 addition; as well as the interior corridors, stairways, classrooms, and auditorium/lunchroom.
In 2010, a levy approved by voters included a project to renovate and expand the school. BLRB Architects was selected to design the project, which began in 2016. However, some parents and community members fought the expansion, taking legal action in King County Superior Court to prevent what they called a “mega school.” After losing an initial appeal, they filed a second in 2016, opposing the courtyard use as a play space. The City of Seattle granted a permit that included the courtyard use as a play area, and the group lost its court fight. The district proceeded with the project to renovate the existing 36,700-square-foot school and construct a 51,400-square-foot addition. Students were relocated to John Marshall as their interim site until the school reopened in fall 2018.
The school entrance was relocated to 25th Avenue NW from 2511 NW 80th Street. The previous administration spaces were combined and converted into the art classrooms. The new space created shared learning spaces for each grade level, and a new gymnasium adjoined a new commons/lunchroom with a partition wall between. The library was relocated to the historic lunchroom on the north side of the building, and the former stage was converted to a reading nook. An expanded covered play area was built on the one-acre playground, and beneath it, 108 geothermal wells connected to the building’s heating and cooling system. The new school has capacity for 660 students with four kindergarten classrooms, four special education classrooms, two art classrooms, one music classroom, two computer labs, and one before- and after-school care space.
History
Loyal Heights School
Location: (N)W 77th Street & 26th Avenue NW
Building: Portables
Site: 2.71 acres
1919: Opened in September as annex to Webster
1928: Became independent school
1931: Closed in December
Loyal Heights School
Location: 2511 NW 80th Street
Building: 10-room brick
Architect: Floyd A. Naramore
Site: 2.71 acres
1932: Opened in January
1946: Addition (Naramore) opened in April
1976: Closed in June; reopened in September
2011: Designated as City of Seattle landmark
2016: School closed for construction; Students relocated to Marshall as interim site
Loyal Heights Elementary School
Location: Location: 7735 25th Avenue NW
Building: 36-room
Architect: Architect: Naramore & Brady and BLRB Architects
Site: 2.71 acres
2018: School reopened; Renovation & addition (BLRB Architects)
Loyal Heights Elementary in 2023
Enrollment: 313
Address: 2511 NW 80th Street
Nickname: Beavers
Configuration: K-5
Colors: Blue and gold
