Robert E. Lee Elementary School was established in 1927, when school was held in a smaller school building facing Matilda. The current Robert E. Lee Elementary school building was designed by noted Dallas Architect Mark Lemmon who built both homes and public buildings during the 20’s 30’s and 40’s, sometimes using an Art Deco Style. At the time of primary building's design and construction Mark Lemmon was working with the Dewitt & Washburn architecture firm. School started in the 2 story building September of 1931 and the original school house was eventually demolished.
Mark Lemmon was again consulted in the building's design when the building was expanded in 1956. He is responsible for the decorative reliefs and floral detail work visible along the exterior of the building. A more utilitarian addition, housing the school's gym, was completed in 1995.
Some of Lemmon's well known buildings in Dallas are: Woodrow Wilson High School , the Texas Hall of State at Fair Park , Oak Lawn United Methodist Church , the Melrose Hotel on Oak Lawn .
Here's a little more on Art Deco style from wikipedia:
Art Deco (/ˌɑrt ˈdɛkoʊ/), or Deco, is an influential visual arts design style that first appeared in France after World War I and began flourishing internationally in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s before its popularity waned after World War II.[1] It is an eclectic style that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colours, bold geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation.
Deco emerged from the interwar period when rapid industrialisation was transforming culture. One of its major attributes is an embrace of technology. This distinguishes Deco from the organic motifs favoured by its predecessor Art Nouveau. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance and faith in social and technological progress.
Historian Bevis Hillier defined Art Deco as "an assertively modern style [that] ran to symmetry rather than asymmetry, and to the rectilinear rather than the curvilinear; it responded to the demands of the machine and of new material [and] the requirements of mass production".
At the time that Robert E. Lee Elementary opened it's doors it served one of the most prosperous and civic minded areas of the city and newspaper articles at the time announced 2/3 of all households in Lee's attendance zone had membership in the Lee PTA,
Mark Lemmon was again consulted in the building's design when the building was expanded in 1956. He is responsible for the decorative reliefs and floral detail work visible along the exterior of the building. A more utilitarian addition, housing the school's gym, was completed in 1995.
Some of Lemmon's well known buildings in Dallas are: Woodrow Wilson High School , the Texas Hall of State at Fair Park , Oak Lawn United Methodist Church , the Melrose Hotel on Oak Lawn .
Here's a little more on Art Deco style from wikipedia:
Art Deco (/ˌɑrt ˈdɛkoʊ/), or Deco, is an influential visual arts design style that first appeared in France after World War I and began flourishing internationally in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s before its popularity waned after World War II.[1] It is an eclectic style that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colours, bold geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation.
Deco emerged from the interwar period when rapid industrialisation was transforming culture. One of its major attributes is an embrace of technology. This distinguishes Deco from the organic motifs favoured by its predecessor Art Nouveau. During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance and faith in social and technological progress.
Historian Bevis Hillier defined Art Deco as "an assertively modern style [that] ran to symmetry rather than asymmetry, and to the rectilinear rather than the curvilinear; it responded to the demands of the machine and of new material [and] the requirements of mass production".
At the time that Robert E. Lee Elementary opened it's doors it served one of the most prosperous and civic minded areas of the city and newspaper articles at the time announced 2/3 of all households in Lee's attendance zone had membership in the Lee PTA,