This history of James Madison Middle 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.
Needed in West Seattle
In the late 1920s, the Seattle School District decided that an intermediate school was needed to relieve overcrowding in the elementary schools of West Seattle. Land was purchased in 1927 and the new building opened in 1929. During the planning stage, the school was called West Seattle Intermediate School. In February 1928, it was officially named James Madison Intermediate School for the fourth president of the United States. When it opened in 1929, the school was called James Madison Junior High School.
The building was designed for a capacity of 1,300 students, with the option to expand to house 1,750 with additions. The floor plan was similar to that of the other three intermediate schools constructed during this period, but Madison’s architectural details were unique. Madison is the only school building with three-story brick 20th Century Gothic stylistic features designed by the district’s third architect, Floyd Naramore. The building features buttresses with cast stone caps, pointed-arched entries, and label molding on some windows. The initial student body consisted of 7th and 8th graders from Alki, Gatewood, Fauntleroy, Jefferson, and Lafayette. Ninth graders were added the next year, bringing enrollment to 1,212. In September 1931, an addition to the north end of the building opened with four more classrooms, a study hall, and a conference room. This pavilion addition had a projecting central bay with a stepped cornice above the second-floor windows and brick buttresses.
The school paper, the Madisonian (1930-1951), first appeared as a Christmas gift to all pupils. A Japanese cherry tree, planted in the northeast corner of the lawn in front of the building, was dedicated on February 18, 1932, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth.
Students from Hughes joined Madison in September 1938. During the 1938-1939 school year Inez Stark’s art classes painted four murals. Two in the library depict the activities of students at the school. Another on one wall of the study hall focuses on the “Four Freedoms” and was inspired by the Atlantic Charter. The fourth, on the opposite wall, depicts the industries of the Pacific Northwest.
Madison sponsored several annual events in the late 1940s. A Christmas tree contributed by the Boys Club was trimmed by the Girls Club. At Christmas time, students caroled in the halls and held an inspirational program in the assembly room. A spring concert took place when lilacs bloomed, and girls “come forth in their long dresses and the boys don their best white shirts.” In the mid-1960s there was still a Christmas assembly and a spring concert that were so popular that all 1,000 tickets for both performances sold out in just three days.
The school’s first principal, J. W. Scudder, held that position until 1956. By 1961, rising elementary students from Schmitz Park, Fairmount Park, Genesee Hill, and Cooper also came to Madison, and enrollment stood at 1,650. However, by 1973, Cooper students shifted to Boren and enrollment dropped to approximately 1,400. In 1972, a new gymnasium opened with a weight room and gymnas- tic equipment. From September 1982 through June 1989, Madison housed only 7th and 8th graders. In 1992, Madison became one of only three middle schools in the United States to participate in Stanford University’s innovative Accelerated Schools Project. This project aimed to do away with labels such as “gifted” and “remedial” and challenge all students equally.
In June 1993, students from the metal and wood shop class won the statewide Solar Vehicle Competition with the boats they con- structed during and after school. Madison received the 1997 Governor’s Award for the state’s best middle school drug and alcohol pre- vention program. A series of student-support projects, including an auction, which raised $23,000 annually, stemmed from a seven-year partnership with Nordstrom.
Landmark Designation
In 2002, the school was designated a City of Seattle Landmark. In 2005, a levy provided funds for the historic renovation and the construction of an eight-classroom addition. Bassetti Architects served as project architects and the scope of work included installation of a geothermal system, the first geothermal project in the district to provide heat and cooling for an entire building. The 250 wells were constructed 150 feet below the sports field.
In 2022, a new 12,500-square-foot, two-story addition on the north side of the school was completed and included six new general classrooms, two new science classrooms, and learning support spaces. The addition was designed by Studio Meng Strazzara and the work was performed while the school remained open. Hallways in the new addition featured ‘learning seats,’ where students can sit down in the hallway to do work. The walls in common spaces are covered with corkboard and similar surfaces to facilitate tacking things up. The Madison mascot, the Bulldog, is featured in one stairwell fashioned from ApplePly, a premium type of plywood. A project to improve the field was scheduled for summer 2023, which included the construction of a synthetic turf, multipurpose sports field and the installation of six light poles to help minimize sky glow.
History
James Madison Junior High School
Location: 3429 45th Avenue SW
Building: 3-story brick
Architect: Floyd A. Naramore
Site: 7.92 acres
1928: Named on February 10
1929: Opened September 3
1931: Addition opened in September (Naramore)
1972: Addition (Grant, Copeland, Chervenak & Assoc.)
1989: Became James Madison Middle School
2002: Designated a City of Seattle landmark
2005: Renovation and addition (Bassetti Architects)
2022: Addition (Studio Meng Strazzara)
2023: Field improvements
James Madison Middle School in 2023
Enrollment: 1,023
Address: 3429 45th Avenue SW
Nickname: Bulldogs
Configuration: 6-8
Colors: Blue and yellow
