Julienne High School
Dayton, Montgomery County – first year on list
The former Julienne School at 325 Homewood Avenue, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio was deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places for local significance as a well-preserved example of the Classical Revival style. The school was built in 1926, with a faculty building added in 1928. These two buildings were connected with a one-story enclosed walkway around 1932. Other additions date from approximately 1960 and 1990. Constructed as the only girls’ Catholic high school in Dayton, in 1973 Julienne High School merged with Chaminade, the boys’ Catholic high school, and the building was sold to Dayton Christian Schools. Dayton Christian Schools remained in ownership until 2004 when Dayton Public Schools purchased the building. This large school campus (9 acres) is an important and prominent visual landmark in the Five Oaks community.
Without local protection, Dayton Public Schools will demolish the structures to build a new public school in partnership with the OSFC school construction program. Julienne was nominated and accepted to National Register of Historic Places on January 8, 2009. A local HD-3 zoning overlay for the Julienne Site was unanimously approved by a city administrative board, however in April of this year that decision was remanded by the Dayton City Commission with a request that the Board of Education work with area residents to fashion a proposal that makes use of architectural detailing in the event of demolition, but also with the indication that the existing structures will not receive protection under the local ordinance.
Julienne represents an opportunity for Dayton Public Schools to make a positive statement for neighborhood stability, history and the educational needs of local students. If the present building represents more space than is needed, opportunities exist for combining uses to secure funding for renovation. If a new school is constructed elsewhere on the expansive grounds (see photo to the right), the buildings represent an extraordinary resource for adaptive reuse – and several developers have already expressed interest in such a project.
Based on its obvious historic importance to the Dayton community, its quality of construction, as well the substantial net benefit to the neighborhood and city through its preservation, Preservation Ohio has included the former Julienne High School on the 2009 List of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites.
Links for Additional Information:
- Preservation Dayton webpage – “Save Julienne”
- “Replace Julienne, city says” – Dayton Daily News, April 26, 2009
- Preservation Ohio names Julienne an endangered historic site – Dayton Daily News, May 21, 2009
- Complete List – 2009 Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites
Additional Photos: click thumbnail for larger image
