James G. Berret School, 1408 Q Street, NW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This former elementary school opened in 1889 to serve white students.  Built in 1930, the school was transferred to the Colored Division, and remained in service through 1950.  After use as a methadone clinic and homeless shelter, the building was converted in 2000 to condominiums and renamed the Berret School Lofts.  It is named for a former mayor of Washington City, who served prior to the Civil War, from 1858 to 1861.

Several other former African-American schools have also been converted into apartments and condominiums, including: Wendell Phillips Elementary (2735 Olive Street NW in Georgetown), named for one of the most prominent white abolitionists in the U.S.; Logan Elementary School (3rd and G Streets NE on Capital Hill), named in honor of John A. Logan, a Civil War Major-General and U.S. Senator; Elijah P. Lovejoy School (440 12th Street, NE in Lincoln Park), named for the white clergyman and owner of an abolitionist newspaper in Alton, IL who was shot and killed; and the William Syphax School (1360 Half Street, SW), named for the first African-American Trustee of the Colored Schools of Washington and Georgetown.