Draft:Tuttle School

• Comment: more citations needed Snowman304|talk 02:17, 22 October 2024 (UTC)

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Tuttle School, built 1910. Photo: Minneapolis Public Schools / Hennepin County Library.

Tuttle School is a historic building in the Como neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

History and Architecture

Constructed in 1910 and opened for use the following year, the Tuttle building was built to serve the expanding population of Como neighborhood, recently added to Southeast Minneapolis by James Elwell. Como neighborhood residents, during the Industrial Expansion period in the city, included a significant immigrant population, and they were commonly employed with Como's adjacent two major rail lines serving the American West and Northwest (the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern), and with the numerous large railside elevators, milling, processing, manufacturing and distributing industries in Como. The Tuttle building is located at 1042 18th Avenue SE in Minneapolis.

The Tuttle building was designed by architect Edward. S. Stebbins, the official architect of the Minneapolis Board of Education. Architecturally, the Tuttle building is significant by reflecting new key ideas in early twentieth century school design, such as expanded fenestration, a low and flat roof line, restrained geometric ornamentation, improved natural ventilation, and fire safety provision. The Northwest Architectural Archives maintains records of Stebbins' career in architecture.

(Tuttle building architect Stebbins is also notable in popular culture, as the residential architect of the well known Queen Anne style Minneapolis "Mary Tyler Moore house" in the eponymous TV sitcom series, which is featured visually in the series opening credits, often figures as a plot location in the series, and continues as a city tourist attraction.)

The Tuttle building name honors Calvin A. Tuttle, an early 19th century settler and pioneer millwright in Saint Anthony (later annexed into Minneapolis). Tuttle was an early landowner in the vicinity. The building naming was the first instance of a Minneapolis school being named to honor a local citizen from Minneapolis pioneer days. The 1910 Tuttle School building succeeded two smaller and earlier (1883 and 1890) buildings of the same name, located nearby in west Como.

Additions of a classrooms wing and a gym to the building were made in 1926 and 1980.

Because of its proximity, the University of Minnesota College of Education often interacted with Tuttle, studying school demographics and conducting in-class observation at Tuttle of elementary education techniques, for College of Education students. Carroll Reed, superintendent of Minneapolis schools, stated in 1930 that though this collaboration Tuttle "will become the model school of our system."

During 1982 to 1991, the Tuttle building housed its long term Tuttle Contemporary school program as well as the Marcy Open program, a teacher/student-driven collaborative, alternative learning curriculum, innovative at that time.

The noted Close Associates architecture firm designed an early 1980s interior renovation at Tuttle, updating the library/media room and other interior spaces.

Status and Plans

In 2022, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) listed the building for sale as surplus property. Under MPS policy for surplus buildings, community-oriented reuse along with community input are factors around an MPS surplus property sale and its agreements determining future use. Como neighbors have presented ideas for preservation and reuse of the building, for residential and other community-oriented purposes.