Click above images to enlarge Avon School District No. 5 Schoolhouse Fourth Street and Wilcox Avenue, Rochester - Oakland County Other Names Harrison School Property Type school Historic Use EDUCATION Current Use COMMERCE/TRADE/business Style Other Architect/Builder Claire Allen Narrative Description The Avon School District No. 5 Schoolhouse is a gable and hip-roofed, limestone and shingle-trimmed, two-story above basement, brick building, resting on a fieldstone foundation. It features rounded arched and rectangular window enframents, beltcoursing above the foundation line, a gabled, shingled dormer accented by vertical brick dentils at the parapet, and is crowned by an asphalt shingled roof. Statement of Significance The Avon School District No. 5 Schoolhouse has historical significance for its association with early educational development in Avon Township and Rochester. It has architectural note as an early work of Claire Allen, who specialized in the design of institutional buildings throughout Michigan. This building sits on the site of the fist private school in Avon Township, constructed in 1847. This school was deeded over to Avon School District #5 in 1857. Formerly known as the Avon Lyceum, the school then became known as "the high school," meaning one which extended beyond primary level. On August 6, 1888 fire destroyed the frame structure. Claire Allen (1857-1942), then based in Lansing, received the commission to design a new fireproof brick building for the school district. Troop and Seeley of Lake Odessa served as the building contractors. Constructed at a cost of $8,000, the sturdy brick school building was completed in October, 1889. Allen's later commissions included five county courthouses, libraries, bank buildings and other institutional buildings, in an architectural practice that spanned fifty years in Michigan. Period of Significance 1866-1900 Significant Date(s) 1889 Registry Type(s) 09/26/1987 State Register listed Site ID# P24382