Emily Griffith's Opportunity School Campus represents over 100 years of public investment in Griffith's idea, a "Public Opportunity School—For All Who Wish to Learn." The 1926 building, built at the corner of 12th and Welton while Griffith was Principal, is the only building on the campus was constructed while Griffith was alive. Following Principal Griffith's retirement in 1933, the school continued to expand until took up the entire block by 1956. The programs offered on the campus flourished and their consolidation within this block fostered greater cooperation among these programs, which contributed to their success.
By the end of 2014, DPS plans to abandon the Opportunity School Campus and sell this property that the community has heavily invested in for over 100 years. All of the current programs located on the campus will be dispersed to three locations across Denver. The move from this facility, which district officials previously estimated needs $10 million worth of improvements, was projected to cost approximately $67,936,000 as of December 2012, using $30,200,000 in bond funds.
By the end of 2014, DPS plans to abandon the Opportunity School Campus and sell this property that the community has heavily invested in for over 100 years. All of the current programs located on the campus will be dispersed to three locations across Denver. The move from this facility, which district officials previously estimated needs $10 million worth of improvements, was projected to cost approximately $67,936,000 as of December 2012, using $30,200,000 in bond funds.
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| Opportunity School Construction History (Google Earth image) |
Main Schoolhouse:
The building permit for the 1926 four-story "Brick School Building, Full Basement," at 1206 Welton, is dated June 25, 1925 and is available at Denver's Central Library. The building permit does not list and architect, but F.H. Cowell is the contractor on the permit. The 1926 building was built because Opportunity School's enrollment had outgrown the Longfellow School and an additional schoolhouse was needed. During WWII, the schools enrollment spiked as a wartime production training center and a larger facility was needed. The original building permit to expand the 1926 building is dated April 10, 1942, however, the plans were postponed due to wartime restrictions. Renowned architect, W. Gordon Jamieson, designed the plans for the addition and the addition was completed following the war in two sections. Griffith was found murdered on June 18, 1947, ground was broken on the first section of that addition August of that year. The first section resulted in the removal of about 44 ft. of the Longfellow building so it could still be used during construction. The Longfellow Building was completely razed for the second section of the addition, which was completed to celebrate Opportunity Schools 40th Anniversary in 1956.
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| "Emily Griffith Opportunity School Records, 1910-1998 [Manuscript]." Box 5, News clippings, 1940-1991. |
The 1956 KRMA Building at the corner of 13th and Glenarm was built at the same time as the 1956 schoolhouse addition. The building was also designed by W. Gordon Jamieson and his partner, Richard B. Williams. The building was built to house the KRMA television studio, now known as Rocky Mountain PBS. Denver did not have a television station until 1952, so when the KRMA Studio was built, it was one of Denver's first channels. As part of the Opportunity School Campus, the building also served training facility teaching the technical skills demanded by this new communications medium. Along with the KRMA Building on the Opportunity School Campus, a Transmitter Building was also built atop lookout mountain to transmit the programs. Jamieson & Williams are also on the Bid Tabulation Sheet for the Transmitter Building in Box 1 - Facilities, of Denver Public Schools Records in the Western History/Genealogy department.
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| The KRMA Building with the shops on Glenarm St. to the left |
Opportunity School's shops compose nearly half of the campus. Shops were first built on the campus in 1919 and they have housed many of the schools programs. The current shops were built in four phases. The Denver Public Schools Records and Box 11 of the Emily Griffith Opportunity School Records have information about the construction of the shops. With the exception of the 1978 Auto Shop Building, the shops were also designed by W. Gordon Jamieson. The 1978 Auto Shop was designed by architect Ramon F. Martinez and it replaced the 1919 shop with this state of the art training facility for the school's automotive program. The 1951 Welding Shop on 12th St. was designed by Jamieson on his own, the 1955 Body Shop Building at the corner of 12th and Glenarm was designed by Jamieson in partnership with Williams, and the 1941 Shop Building was designed by Jamieson in partnership with R. Ewing Stiffler. The 1941 building was built during WWII as a part of the wartime production training program to train metal workers and machine shop operators.
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| From left to right: The original 1926 Building, the 1951 Welding Shop and the 1955 Body Shop, greeting eastbound Colfax commuters to Downtown Denver |
