This history of Bagley Eementary School is taken from the second edition of Building for Learning: Seattle Public School Histories, which includes histories of every school building used by the district since its formation around 1862. The original essay was written for the 2002 first edition by Nile Thompson and Carolyn J. Marr, and updated for the 2024 edition by HistoryLink contributor Ryan Anthony Donaldson.
Named for Daniel Bagley
The area northwest of Green Lake was sparsely populated at the turn of the twentieth century. As more families settled in the area, the need for a school became apparent. To address this need, the Seattle School District pur chased a small tract of land along a dirt road known as Woodland Park Avenue (later Aurora Avenue). Nearby were the Dawson family’s farmhouse and orchard. At that time, N 80th Street was just a lane leading to their barn. To the east, Licton Springs Creek flowed toward Green Lake.
The first school on this two-acre site was called Allen Annex. It began in 1905 at Woodland Park Avenue N and N 79th Street with one portable building and later expanded to three. Two teachers instructed children in grades 1-4. Allen Annex closed in March 1907 when a permanent building was opened on the same site. The board named the new permanent building (temporarily referred to as North Green Lake School) in honor of Reverend Daniel Bagley, whose “work as a pioneer aided the establishment of the Territorial University at Seattle.” The board minutes note that it was “given the name of Bagley School.” A pencil-written revision inserts the first name Daniel. The Daniel Bagley School opened with five teachers and 219 students in grades 1-8. It had eight classrooms on two floors.
The 1907 building resembled Latona and Hay, which were built in the same period according to district architect James Stephen’s “model school” plan. Two octagonal towers with windows flanked the main entry. A wide hallway separated the classrooms, and the upper hall served as an assembly room. Two large basement rooms were used as playrooms, and students who lived too far away to go home for lunch ate on benches set up along the walls.
In 1917, the district purchased additional acreage to the east of the grounds, increasing the length by 600 feet. That same year Bagley’s enrollment surpassed 400 students. Because of wartime limitations on materials and labor, a temporary six-room “Liberty Building” was all the district could add to the site in 1919. These inexpensive but serviceable buildings were used at five schools where the need was most urgent: Jefferson, Bryant, Robert Fulton, Maple, and Bagley. These inexpensive and quickly built wooden buildings lacked indoor plumbing and adhered to a national policy to conserve labor and materials for the war effort.
Between 1919 and 1929, enrollment at Bagley increased from 544 to 632, with students housed in the eight-room 1907 building, the six room Liberty Building, and several portables. As traffic on Aurora Avenue increased, a safe means for children to cross the street was needed. In 1928, a tunnel was built under Aurora Avenue at 79th Street. The underpass is now barricaded.
New Construction
Construction of the present building began in 1929 on the east side of the property. Completed the following year, the two-story brick structure is similar in appearance to other elementary schools built at the time, except for its distinctive Art Deco cast-stone details. The new building opened with two play courts, a library, gymnasium, and auditorium-lunchroom. In 1930, the district purchased more adjacent land, creating the largest elementary school playground in the city. The grounds shrank in 1940 when the strip of land fronting Aurora Avenue was sold, and the 1906 structure was torn down. Bagley’s student population reached 730 in 1931-1932, the year that kindergarten was added. In 1953-1954, more than 800 students attended the school, and several portables stood on the grounds.
Enrollment began to decline in the 1960s, and, by 1970, most of the portables had been removed. In the 1970s, Bagley offered a section of the district-wide Choice Not Chance Program, providing parents and children the opportunity to choose from a variety of educational emphases, such as free school, adaptability, career awareness, and traditional education.
The Gypsy Children’s Program moved to Bagley from Day in fall 1975 with 34 students, one teacher, and two aides. Renamed the Gypsy Alternative School in fall 1980 and the Gypsy Alternative Program in fall 1986, it operated for grades K-8 in a small, two-room wooden portable. By 1987, the program was the only surviving Romani school in the United States. That program, too, closed in the spring of 1995 after its enrollment dipped below minimum requirements.
In 2006, the Bethany Community Church across the street on N 80th Street paid to have a parking lot created on the Bagley school grounds in exchange for a lease to use that parking lot during Sunday services. The church needed the increased parking capacity before they could enlarge their church. The school benefits from this parking lot the majority of the time.
Landmark Status
In 2015, Bagley School was designated a Seattle city landmark, which included the exterior of the building; the meeting room/cafeteria; the central entrance and associated corridor display; the central stair at the first and second floors; the corridors; and classrooms. Modernization of the historic building began in 2018 and included seismic upgrades, bracing and reinforcement of walls, and renovated classrooms. To address future enrollment growth, a two-story addition was constructed with eight new classrooms, learning commons, small group learning spaces, and a new full-size gym. Miller Hayashi Architects designed the project.
Before construction began, an arborist report determined that 11 trees were deemed exceptional and needed to be protected, including two Western Red Cedars original to the site. During construction, students attended John Marshall as an interim site and returned in 2020 when Daniel Bagley Elementary School reopened.
The Native Habitat Garden at Bagley provides an opportunity for students to learn about Northwest native plants and their plant communities. In the garden, students can learn to recognize and name many of the common native plants they would find in our regional wooded areas. This garden is one of several habitat gardens in the larger Green Lake community forming a local ecosystem and habitat for native birds and insects.
History
Daniel Bagley School
Location: Stone Way & N 79th Street
Building: 8-room, 2-story wood
Architect: James Stephen
Site: 2.0 acres
1906: Named on March 26
1907: Building opened
1917: Site expanded
1930: Closed
1935: 1st floor room turned into Aurora Community Club meeting room
1940: Demolished and that portion of property sold
Present: Site of Chubby & Tubby Store
Bagley Annex
Location: Stone Way & N 79th Street
Building: 6-room, wood "Liberty Building"
Architect: J. N. Maybury
1919: Opened
1930: Closed and demolished
Daniel Bagley School
Location: 7821 Stone Avenue N
Building: 17-room, 2-story brick
Architect: Floyd A. Naramore
Site: 4.1 acres
1930: Opened
2015: Seattle City landmark designation
2018: School closed for construction; Students relocated to John Marshall as interim site
2020: School reopened; Modernization and addition (Miller Hayashi)
Bagley Elementary in 2023
Enrollment: 369
Address: 7821 Stone Avenue N
Nickname: Bees
Configuration: K-5
Colors: Black and yellow
