Wiley H. Bates High School

Wiley H. Bates High School
Wiley H. Bates High School, July 2009
Location 1029 Smithville Street, Annapolis, Maryland
Coordinates 38°58′28″N 76°30′44″W / 38.97444°N 76.51222°WCoordinates: 38°58′28″N 76°30′44″W / 38.97444°N 76.51222°W
Built 1932
Architect Buckler & Fenhagen; Et al.
Architectural style Colonial Revival
Governing body Local
NRHP Reference # 92001267
Added to NRHP July 26, 1994

Wiley H. Bates High School is a historic black school building in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. It was completed in 1932, and replaced the original Annapolis Colored High School.[1] The school building is named after Wiley H. Bates, a prominent African-American businessman and community leader whose financial donations enabled the school to be built.[2]

The original portion of the building is a flat-roofed, two-story building of brick and masonry bearing walls and wood frame floor and roof structure in Colonial Revival style.[1] First-floor classrooms were added to both the north and south sections in 1937, and second-floor classrooms were added in 1945. Additional teaching facilities were added in 1950,[1] in a simplified International or Modern style.

The building continued in use as a high school until the late 1960s, when it became Bates Junior High School, which subsequently closed at this location in 1981 and then reopened as Bates Middle School at the nearby vacated building of Annapolis High School. Prior to desegregation in 1966, Bates was the only public school in the county that African-American students could attend for a secondary level education.[1]

The site is now known as Wiley H. Bates Heritage Park. The building has been repurposed into 71 senior housing units, a senior center, a boys and girls club, and a museum dedicated to Annapolis merchant and civic leader Wiley H. Bates.[3]

Wiley H. Bates High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Maryland Historical Trust". Wiley H. Bates High School, Anne Arundel County. Maryland Historical Trust. 2008-11-21.
  2. ↑ "Wiley H. Bates Middle School: About Us". The History of Wiley H. Bates. Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
  3. ↑ "The Residences at Wiley H. Bates Heritage Park". Community Preservation and Development Corporation.
  4. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.

External links