{"nrhp_refnum":"74000557","name":"Portola Valley School","other_names":["\"Primary School\" of the Portola School District"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"775 Portola Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Portola Valley","county":"San Mateo County","state":"CA","lat":37.38206776000004,"lon":-122.228811829,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-06-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small wooden Mission Revival schoolhouse at 775 Portola Road in Portola Valley, San Mateo County, California, built in 1909 as the primary school of the Portola School District.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the few remaining turn-of-the-century Mission Revival schools, and a conspicuous effort to carry out the style on a small scale in wood. Its extensive use of shingles is considered significant because the Mission Revival style is said to have developed partly from the shingle tradition. It also reflects the district's 1909 growth and the taste of wealthy San Franciscans who owned estates in the valley.","narrative":"Built in 1909, this one-room wooden schoolhouse at 775 Portola Road in Portola Valley served as the primary school of the Portola School District. The district had grown after half a century of operation, and voters approved a bond in June 1909 to pay for a second school building. Architect LeBaron R. Olive of Palo Alto drew the plans, and Olaf Olsen and Jermone H. LaCroix of Mayfield won the construction contract for $2,347. The design interprets Mission Revival with false-front gables, scalloped arches, simplified quatrefoils and fanlight transoms, executed in redwood and cedar shingles rather than stucco and tile. Wood suited the local redwood country and cost less. The nomination describes it as one of the few remaining turn-of-the-century Mission Revival schools and a small-scale example of the style in wood. Later changes included a rear furnace shed, electrical wiring, composition roofing and a 1952 partition. The building was recorded in good condition, with much original hardware surviving.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"LeBaron R. Olive, architect (Palo Alto); built by Olaf Olsen and Jermone H. LaCroix of Mayfield","architectural_style":"Mission Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition and slightly altered; the form notes it was used as a school office and that its proximity to the San Andreas Fault raised fears for its future.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.455647-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/74000557.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000557/799fef8117-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000557/799fef8117-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"W Nowicki","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portola_Valley_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">W Nowicki</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portola_Valley_School.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861548","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portola_Valley_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22077817"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-mateo-county/portola-valley-school-74000557/"}