Rosenwald School Plans
Home History School Locations Links  
Tuskegee Institute prepared plans for the earliest Rosenwald buildings, published in a 1915 pamphlet THE NEGRO RURAL SCHOOL AND ITS RELATION TO THE COMMMUNITY. Professors R.R. Taylor, Director of the Department of Mechanical Industries, and W.A. Hazel, of the Division of Architecture, created designs for a 1 teacher school, two variations on a 5 teacher school, plus an industrial building, a privy (outdoor toilet), and two residences for teachers.

In 1920, control of the schoolbuilding program shifted to the new Rosenwald Foundation office in Nashville, where director S.L. Smith drew up a fresh set of designs. These first appeared in book form in 1924 as COMMUNITY SCHOOL PLANS (shown on this website) and remained in print with revised editions into the 1940s. Smith made careful use of natural light, providing separate designs for buildings that faced east-west and buildings that faced north-south. Schools ranged in size from 1 to 7 teachers, and there were also plans for privies, industrial buildings, and teachers cottages.
One Teacher Plans Tuskegee Plan
  Nashville Plan: East or West Facing
  Nashvill Plan: North or South Facing
Two Teacher Plans Nashville Plan: East or West Facing
  Nashville Plan: North or South Facing A
  Nashville Plan: North or South Facing B
Three Teacher Plans Nashville Plan: East or West Facing
  Nashville Plan: North or South Facing
Four Teacher Plans Nashville Plan: East or West Facing +Auditorium
  Nashville Plan: East or West Facing
  Nashville Plan: North or South Facing
Five Teacher Plans Tuskegee Plan
  Nashville Plan: East or West Facing
  Nashville Plan: North or South Facing
Six Teacher Plans Nashville Plan: East or West Facing +Auditorium
  Nashville Plan: East or West Facing
  Nashville Plan: North or South Facing
Seven Teacher Plans Nashville Plan: East or West Facing
  Nashville Plan: North or South Facing
Other Buildings Tuskegee Plan: Five Room Teacher Home
  Tuskegee Plan: Three Room Teacher Home
  Nashville Plan: 2Bdrm Teacher House 
  Nashville Plan: 3 Bdrm Teacher House
   Tuskegee Plan: Industrial Bld.
   Tuskegee Plan: Privy
  Nashville Plan: Privy
 Nashville Specifications  Introduction
   General Specifications
   Painting
   School Grounds
   Daylighting

 


©2004 Thomas Hanchett