Historical Landscape Design

Historically, the principal entrance to the Administration Building was located on the primary (north) elevation and faced north towards a circular drive (removed). There were two entries (removed) into the circular drive on the west side from the palm tree-lined street oriented at 45-degrees. A grass lawn (removed) occupied the center of the circular drive. Between the Administration Building and the circular drive was a deep lawn (partially intact). A concrete pathway led from the primary entrance to the circular drive, and two serpentine-shaped concrete pathways led from the side entrance on the east and west elevation to various roads.

Located to the southeast of the Administration Building was the Superintendent’s Residence constructed fourteen years earlier. A road originally ran from the entrance of the property along the eastern property line through the Administration Building and the Superintendent’s Residence and connected with palm tree-lined streets. A concrete pathway (extant) led from the rear entrance located on the south elevation to the secondary road (removed).

There were several mid-century alteration campaigns that removed the road infrastructure adjacent to the Administration Building. In 1958, the circular drive was removed and converted into a Visitor and Administration parking lot; and a portion of the road from the property entrance to the Superintendent’s Residence was removed and this road was fenced off at the western end. Another major improvement was the installation of a fourteen-foot tall fence around the perimeter of the property. It was at that time that the Administration Building and Superintendent’s Residence lost their visual connection with the rest of the school site, as they were not enclosed within the fence boundaries. By 1965, the Visitor and Administration parking lot was expanded to the 45-degree interior road; and the road between the Administration and Superintendent’s Residence was shortened and converted into a cul-de-sac.

Historic photographs indicate that the landscape surrounding the Administration Building was once lushly planted. Lawns surrounded the Administration Building and old sidewalks led to the entrances (the sidewalk enclosing the lawn was a later mid-century improvement). In front of the north, south and east elevation was a continuous planting bed enclosed by a brick header; while the planting beds appeared in historic photographs, the brick headers did not and were later, possibly mid-century, improvements. While the short palms in the planting beds appeared older, they did not appear in historical photographs. Based upon review of historic photographs in comparison with existing conditions, the trees on the north side of the building were more recent additions during or after the 1950s, while the large trees on the south side of the building were from an earlier period and may have been planted in the 1920s or 1930s, such as the Grapefruit, Southern Magnolia, and Palm. Furthermore, the rear (south) elevation retained its spatial relationship to the Superintendent’s Residence and its lush landscape. The original cornerstone and a bench constructed of brownstone from the original 1891 Administration Building can be found in front of the north elevation.