Vacant and boarded up since 2016, the building was in disarray, but the design team could see its potential.
This site was identified by Seattle Public Schools to be used as a swing site for several schools during their own renovation or replacement construction period. In 2019, 110 years after the school saw its first cohort of students, Seattle Public Schools hired Bassetti Architects to renovate the 1909 school building as part of a master plan to add capacity to the campus. In 1950, a sprawling, one-story mid-century modern high school with a flat roof and brick veneer siding was constructed adjacent to the original 1909 school, largely obstructing its view from Beacon Avenue S. Both additions were built to the west – what is viewed today as the back side of the building. Subsequent major additions included the 1940s basement classroom additions and a 2002 elevator addition. The Original Van Asselt building has been described as a “free interpretation of the Tudor Style”, with a heavy timber porch and decorative half-timbering at the central gabled bay.
Four classrooms organized around a central stair comprised the original two-story, wood-framed structure. Located at the heart of the Beacon Hill neighborhood and designed by Seattle renowned architect Edgar Blaire, the Original Van Asselt School building was constructed in 1909 as one of the first elementary grade schools in south Seattle.