Greenfield Union School was built by Greenfield Township for its District #1.[2] The school was designed by Van Leyen & Schilling, and construction began in 1914. The school was completed in 1916 at a cost of $40,000, and the school opened its doors to elementary through high school students. That same year, Greenfield Township was annexed by the city of Detroit.[3] As more residents moved to the area, the school became too crowded. High school students were transferred to other buildings, and in 1931, an addition containing several classrooms, an auditorium, and a gymnasium was constructed. This addition was also designed by Van Leyen & Schilling.[4] In 1944, middle school students were also transferred.[2] In 1971, another addition was constructed. An addition for early childhood learning was built in 2002.[5]
The core block of the Greenfield Union School, constructed in 1914-1916, is a tall, rectangular, side-gabled, Georgian Revival red brick structure on a high basement. The front of the building has a full-height tetrastyle entry portico, styled in the Corinthian order and topped with a triangular pediment. A denticulated cornice wraps around the entire building. The entry doors beneath the portico are reached by a flight of several steps. The windows in this building consist of three large, separate openings on each floor in the center bay, and a grouping of four multi-light windows on each floor on the flanking bays.[2]
Two Georgian Revival wings, built in 1931, flank the main block of the school, giving it an overall H-shaped plan. These wings are identical, brick, flat-roofed structures. The side elevations of each wing features two-story, round-arched windows. A single-story 1971 addition is connected to the rear of the building.[2]
The interior of the school features an entry vestibule beyond the main doors, leading to a corridor housing administrative offices. Stairs on either side of the corridor lead upwards to classrooms, and to the two-story gymnasium wing (to the west) and the two-story auditorium (to the east). The
gymnasium has tall Palladian windows with wood trim and exposed masonry walls. The auditorium contains a stage with decorative plaster trim, with a relief framing the windows wrapping to the rear of the auditorium. The original kindergarten room is now the library, and contains a protruding bay window with wood seats below, as well as a fireplace with a decorative Pewabic tile surround and a drinking fountain niche with Pewabic tile on all three sides.[2]
Demographics
In 1994 about 65% of the students were of Arab origin, 30% were black, and 5% were non-Arab white. The school initiated a 20-day long summer program to improve Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test scores and English ability, catering to Middle Eastern communities.[8]
