File:Eastern Avenue School, NPS National Register of Historic Places Reference Number 13000666 Image 2.jpg

English: As described in US National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places Program website (https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/13000666.htm): "Eastern Avenue School was built in 1929 on Grand Rapids, Michigan's northeast side. The residential neighborhood, known as Highland Park, was originally settled by Polish immigrants, many of whom worked in the brickyard to the south of Michigan Street. Designed by Henry H. Turner as an elementary school for students in kindergarten and grades one through six, the school was also planned specifically to serve special populations among the city's elementary school-age children from the entire city and included an entire orthopedic floor for physically challenged students and an open or fresh-air classroom for sickly students. The building served as an elementary school until its closing in 2008. As the expansion of an earlier and smaller experiment in serving the city's elementary school-age children with special needs, Eastern is significant under Criterion A (Education) for its initial planning and use to serve the needs of that population in Grand Rapids. Built into a steeply sloping hillside , Eastern is significant under Criterion C (Architecture) as the architect's unique solution to designing classroom and activity spaces for two separate student populations and integrating them into one large building that provides grade-level access at multiple levels. The building is also significant for its 1920s exterior architectural character, with its period revival northern Italian Romanesque-inspired design combined with a few Art Deco details."