This history of James Monroe Intermediate 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.
Jame Monroe
Plans for a new Ballard Intermediate School were underway in 1929 when the Seattle School Board voted to name it after the nation’s fifth president. James Monroe Intermediate School was constructed on a slightly elevated site in an elegant 20th Century Georgian style just four blocks west of Ballard High School. Its design resembles Hamilton, the district’s first intermediate school. A three-story rectangle enclosed a single-story center holding the assembly-room, lunchroom, and kitchen. Like Hamilton, the gymnasiums were placed in one-and-one-half-story wings.
Monroe opened in 1931 to 759 pupils in grades 7-8 from Adams, Crown Hill, Irving, Loyal Heights, Salmon Bay, Webster, and Whittier. Eighth graders from West Woodland came in 1941-1942, but its 7th graders were not transferred until 1949-1950. The post-war population explosion sent some 9th graders to Ballard High School beginning in 1951. In 1955, four portables were added at Monroe and three more were brought in the following year. The portables took up about half of the playground, so the boys were forced to go to Salmon Bay Park for outside activities during PE. At the end of the school year in 1955, William King retired after serving as principal since opening day in 1931. Enrollment peaked at 1,620 in 1956-1957. With their school strapped for space, the 7th graders were moved to Loyal Heights for 1958-1959. A 1959 remodel transformed a classroom into three counseling offices, provided space for Boys Club and Girls Club advisors, and added a reception room for pupils.
Closed in 1981
A major remodel in 1974 utilized an interior courtyard space for the construction of a modern library, lunchroom, and auditorium. The playground was expanded, increasing the site size to 4.34 acres. During the 1978 desegregation plan, students entered Monroe not only from Adams and West Woodland but also from Whitworth. When Monroe closed in 1981, its enrollment was down to 537. Students were reassigned to Whitman and Mercer. After the school closed, part of the building was leased as a community center. In 1987, the district took the building back for use as an interim site. Monroe has been the temporary home for three elementary schools during periods of construction: Whitworth (1987-1989), West Woodland (1989-1990), and Whittier (1997-1999). When it was not used as an interim site, Monroe was used for district storage.
In September 1999, Monroe became the new home of Coho Elementary when it was relocated from Wilson-Pacific, and New Options Middle School (NOMS), which moved in from Hay. The goal of combining the two schools was to create a K-8 program. A significant factor behind relocating the programs to Monroe was that more than 50 percent of Coho’s student body was comprised of children from the Ballard community. Staff and students in both programs appreciated their new, larger permanent space, but they still found it challenging to merge the two programs. The combined schools were formally renamed Salmon Bay School on Aug. 19, 2002, though the building is still named after James Monroe.
In 2012, the PTA raised funds and obtained grants to significantly update the playground to meet the needs of children on the autism spectrum. Salmon Bay K-8 focuses on a whole-child approach to education to balance the academic, physical, and social/emotional needs of students. It operates as an option/choice school where students choose to enroll in place of automatic assignments.
History
James Monroe Junior High School
Location: 1810 NW 65th Street
Building: Brick
Architect: Floyd A. Naramore
Site: 2.6 acres
1929: Named James Monroe Intermediate School on September 6
1931: Opened on February 2
1974: Site expanded to 4.3 acres
1981: Closed in June; leased in autumn
1987-89: Interim site for Whitworth
1989-90: Interim site for West Woodland
1987-99: Used as temporary site
1997-99: Interim site for Whittier
1999: Reopened as K-8; Coho K-5 Students moved from Hay, NOMS 6-8 Students moved from Wilson
2002: Renamed Salmon Bay K-8 School @ Monroe
Salmon Bay K-8 at Monroe in 2023
Location: 1810 NW 65th Street
Enrollment: 614
Configuration: K-8, Option
Nicknames: (Coho) Salmon; (Noms) Panthers
Colors: (Noms) Black and white
