For sale is an early 1900s CLASS PORTRAIT McKINLEY MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL in Washington, DC. This historic photograph is dated May 22, 1907. The printed black and white photo is glued to a backing board. The photo itself measures about 10 inches by 7 1/2 inches. The back of the board documents that the portrait was taken by Block Photographer, 215 6th Street St. S.E., Washington, DC. The photographer has a three digit phone number. A great historical artifact.
From 1902 until 1928 the building housed The William McKinley Manual Training School operated between 1902 and 1928. During this time, Washington Dc had segregated school. The McKinley school was limited to white students and opened the same time as Armstrong Manual Training School for African Americans. Both schools taught industrial education along with the more traditional academic curriculum that prepared students for college.
After the McKinley school moved to a larger campus in 1928, the building became Robert Gould Shaw Junior High School, which had previously opened for black students on M Street in 1921. The new Shaw school was also a blacks-only school until segregation ended, but even after de-segregation, the school primarily supported African-American students. The Shaw school was overcrowded and poorly maintained and as the building deteriorated the school was referred to as “Shameful Shaw.” The school’s condition was illustrative of the city’s neglect of African Americans. In 1977, Shaw was moved to a new school location. In 2013, Shaw at Garnet-Patterson closed due to low enrollment following the murder of its principal, Brian Betts. Shaw had a prolific music program with its band marching in the Macy’s parade, the Rose Bowl and the Gimbel’s parade in Philadelphia, PA. The building was home the McKinley School and then the Shaw school now houses apartments.
The William McKinley School which opened in 1902 was less than a year after the assassination of President McKinley. On September 14, 1901, the President was shot as he stood in a receiving line at the Temple of Music, by a Polish born anarchist named Leon Czolgosz. McKinley was shot twice. One bullet bounced off a button but the second fatally struck McKinley in the stomach.
