From the July 2010 MDAH Significance Report: The most prominent building (although somewhat obscured between two less significant 1980s buildings) is the old elementary school, designed by Jackson architect James M. Spain and built in 1942 with funding from the Federal Works Agency, a Depression-era program that would have been just ending with the advent of World War II. A U-plan school, the elementary building features an auditorium wing projecting to the front of the building. As was common, the façade of this auditorium, designed for community gatherings as well as school functions, is more highly decorated than the rest of the building, featuring Colonial Revival details and symmetrically spaced arched entrances. The cast-concrete cornice from this façade runs around the other elevations, which are otherwise plain. While all windows and exterior doors of the elementary building have been replaced, the interior (as viewed from the exterior because of lack of access) seems to maintain a high degree of integrity, retaining its original floorplan, wall transoms, and terrazzo floors. The auditorium especially appears to be highly intact on the interior, with original seating, proscenium arch and stage.
The elementary building is one of the best examples in Clinton of the Georgian or Colonial Revival style, comparing favorably even to schools in other communities in the same style, including the Port Gibson school (1939) and the auditorium building at Glen Allen (1938). The symmetrical façade punctuated by pilasters and fanlights clearly expresses the importance of the building both on campus and in the community. |
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