King County Landmarks: Luther Burbank School Historic District (1904), Luther Burbank Park, Mercer Island

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Address: Luther Burbank Park, 2040 84th Avenue, SE, Mercer Island. In 1890, Major Newell started the Boys and Girls Aid Association, a school for indigent children in Seattle. The school moved to the northeast end of Mercer Island in 1904 and was operated by the Seattle School District as the Mercer Island Parental School. The school expanded to include an administration building, additional classrooms, a dormitory, activity buildings, a hospital, a laundry, and a farm with a large dairy barn. The school was converted into an all-boys facility in 1928 to provide a group residential environment and training in practical living skills. The school, renamed to honor botanist Luther Burbank, operated until 1956. School structures remaining on the site include a 1929 brick dormitory designed by Floyd Naramore (1879-1970) in the French Provincial style, which today (2000) serves as the King County Parks Administration Building, a steam plant, and the foundation of a large dairy barn.

 

Sources: King County Landmarks and Heritage Commission.
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Buildings Education Landmarks
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