A Playground and Community Center

Monroe School served students and local residents as both a school and a community gathering place. A student club called "The Downbeat" held dances in the combined gym and auditorium, while local churches and civic organizations used the space for meetings, pageants, and plays. Neighbors browsed the school library and attended lectures by public speakers. The school did not have an outside playground until 1943, when the Board of Education purchased a strip of land on this side of Monroe Street. Students later recalled boys wrestling and playing tag on the new playfield before school, while girls jumped rope or played hopscotch. Miss Laura's Coffee Shop, at the corner of Monroe and 15th Streets, was a popular place for students to buy lunch because the school had no cafeteria.

Topeka, Kansas · United States