Holmes School was divided into three parts: above the doors of the main building and in the center was an inscription that read Oliver Wendell Holmes School, 1906.
The building on the east side housed kindergarten, first and second grades.
The building on the west side housed grades three and four. It was here that I began my life at Holmes School in the late 1940s.
The fifth and sixth grades were on the first floor of the main building as were the washrooms, and up a flight of stairs was the principal’s office facing south.
A long crack running north and south could easily be seen on the floor of the main hall, and the walls in this area were covered with art work painted by the WPA. These paintings depicted industry, education and the arts.
On the second floor from east to west were the seventh/eighth grade history classroom, the music room, art room and washrooms.
One had to go up a short flight of stairs on the west side of the second floor to reach the library, English classroom, literature classroom and math/science classroom.
The gym was below the first floor on the west side, and the rest of the lower level housed the nurse’s office and storerooms.
The huge playground was in the front of the entire structure facing Chicago Avenue between Kenilworth and Woodbine.
When I attended Holmes, 400 students were enrolled.
I’ll always remember this school because of the superb education I received from dedicated and caring teachers.
John Stanger
Holmes School, class of 1953