Robidoux School | |
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| Location | 201 S. 10th St., St. Joseph, Missouri |
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| Coordinates | 39°45′55.5″N94°50′52.2″W / 39.765417°N 94.847833°W Coordinates: 39°45′55.5″N94°50′52.2″W / 39.765417°N 94.847833°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1908 (1866 (first school) 1907 (first building)) |
| Architect | Edmond Jacques Eckel/Walter Boschen |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference # | 83000973 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | August 11, 1983 |
The Robidoux School is a historic school building located at 201 South 10th in St. Joseph, Missouri. It was the first building used by what would become Missouri Western State University. The first high school in St. Joseph was built on the site in 1866. In 1895 the high school moved to 13th and Patee and the building was remodeled to be a grammar school named after St. Joseph founder Joseph Robidoux. In 1907 the building was razed and architect Edmond Jacques Eckel and Walter Boschen was commissioned to design the new Classical Revival style building which opened in 1909 at a cost of $130,000 including contents. It included 12 classrooms and an auditorium seating 1,100. In 1914, the building was used as a freshman annex for Central High School (Saint Joseph, Missouri). In 1919 it became the Robidoux Polytechnic High School, a vocational trade school. In 1933 it became home for the St. Joseph Junior College which had been founded in 1915 and was earlier operating out of Central High School. The move occurred at the same time as the Central High School moved to its current location. In 1965 the Junior College became a four-year Missouri Western State College. In 1969 the college moved to its current location on the east side of St. Joseph. [2]
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country but generally include primary school for young children and secondary school for teenagers who have completed primary education. An institution where higher education is taught, is commonly called a university college or university, but these higher education institutions are usually not compulsory.
St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County, Missouri, United States. It is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Buchanan, Andrew, and DeKalb counties in Missouri and Doniphan County, Kansas. As of the 2010 census, St. Joseph had a total population of 76,780, making it the eighth largest city in the state, and the third largest in Northwest Missouri.
Missouri Western State University is a public university in Saint Joseph, Missouri. As of September 2016, the school enrolls 5,145 undergraduate students and 243 graduate students.
In 1981 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [1] Ironically the application was filed by Missouri Western's rival Northwest Missouri State University. [2] It is located in the Museum Hill Historic District.
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.
Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and is the official Missouri State Arboretum. The school is governed by a state-appointed Board of Regents and headed by President Dr. John Jasinski.
Museum Hill Historic District is a national historic district located at St. Joseph, Missouri. The district encompasses 248 contributing buildings in a predominantly residential section of St. Joseph. It developed between about 1860 and 1942, and includes representative examples of Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, American Foursquare, and Bungalow / American Craftsman style architecture. Located in the district is the separately listed Robidoux School. Other notable buildings include the First Congregational Church (1890), Francis Street Methodist Church (1905), First Baptist Church (1896) designed by architect Edmond Jacques Eckel (1845–1934), United Presbyterian Church (1901), First Church of Christ Scientist (1905), First English Evangelical Lutheran Church (1913), and Queen of the Apostles Roman Catholic Church (1908) designed by Eckel.
