Washington Graded and High School
Also known as: Washington Elementary School; Washington Gifted and Talented Magnet School
Why it's listed
Washington Graded and High School is a two-story, E-shaped brick school on a ridge above Fayetteville Street, south of downtown Raleigh. Designed by South Carolina architect C. Gadsden Sayre and completed in 1924, it has glazed terracotta and cast stone trim, a crenellated parapet, and a deeply recessed Tudor-arched entrance. The site also includes a 1949 gymnasium, a circa 1942 gravel track, and a brick-faced culvert. The school grew from a school organized in 1866 with Northern missionary support and later taken into the city system. It became Raleigh's first public high school for African American students. Parents lobbied for years for a new publicly funded building to replace the deteriorating older one. The school is considered locally significant for its role in education and Black ethnic heritage, and for its Tudor Revival design, which was more restrained than that of a white elementary school Sayre designed at the same time. Additions and a 2002 interior renovation have altered the building, but the school remains in use.
Significance in brief: It was Raleigh's first African American public high school and reflects how urban public schools for Black students developed in North Carolina, from Northern missionary origins in 1866 to a city-run school. It is also a restrained but well-executed example of Tudor Revival school architecture from the period of state-funded consolidated schools.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04001584, listed February 2, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1000 Fayetteville St., Raleigh |
|---|---|
| County | Wake County |
| Listed | February 2, 2005 |
| Reference number | 04001584 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1923 - 1954 |
| Architect / builder | Sayre, Christopher Gadsden, Architect; W.B. Barrow and Son, Builders; Berryman, George, Architect; Kenyon, Worth, General Contractor |
| Architectural style | Tudor Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Black, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a school; the interior was gutted in a 2002 renovation, and additions were built in 1996 and 2000. |
| Acreage | 16.5 |
| Coordinates | 35.76944, -78.64380 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04001584.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q21262072
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.