A feature from Lansdale Historical Society
York Avenue School was built in 1926-1927 following years of contention and controversy on the Board of School Directors.
One of the items under debate was the location of the school. Some parents felt that the site at York and Mitchell avenues was too far from the center of town, where most of the students lived.
The school opened in November 1927.
The photos below were taken from the collection of Dennis Boyles. They show that the new school stood practically alone in the area we know as the West Ward.
All photos were taken near the Boyles home at 720 W. Mt. Vernon St.
Notice that the brick homes on the north side of the street were not yet built when two of the pictures were taken.
By the time the photo above was taken in 1980, the 50-year-old-plus frame windows at York Avenue School brought only cold drafts into the classrooms during the winter months.
When the school was in its younger days, those windows were the best on a hot day in spring or fall. Both top and bottom windows tilted open near-horizontally, allowing cooling breezes (and sometimes yellowjackets) into the classroom. Air conditioning was still a distant dream.
But by the 1980s, the windows didn’t fit tightly anymore. The classrooms were so cold on some winter days that the teachers and children wore their coats all day, and for a time, everyone was allowed to wear “warm-up suits” on Fridays.
The school district was reluctant to replace the windows because the school was being considered for closure. It took nearly 10 more years for new windows to be installed.
In time the wonderful old school was modernized, air conditioned, and expanded.
