<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1s5IrA_1H1CHjLt00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1s5IrA_1H1CHjLt00" width="990" height="660" ><figcaption>The old Sawyer Elementary School was a fixture of life on the city’s west side from 1921 – 1996. Photo courtesy of Sturgeon Bay Schools.</figcaption></figure>One of the best views in Sturgeon Bay once belonged to the city’s youngest residents. Originally opened in 1921 as the Sawyer Elementary School, the brick building that sits stoically atop the hill along South Madison Avenue was one of the first public schools on Sturgeon Bay’s west side. Later, it was known as West Side Elementary School, a place where thousands of children started their educational journeys. Today, the building is Sawyer School Lofts, home to 15 affordable one- and two-bedroom apartments. Inside the historic structure, the terrazzo-floored hallways, extra-wide staircases and high ceilings remind residents of the building’s past life. Even a few chalkboards remain, along with the words “BOYS” and “GIRLS” etched in large stone blocks above what used to be the school’s main north-side entrances.Those who call Sawyer School Lofts home can walk to cafes and attractions in the west-side business district or walk the bridge loop. Large windows deliver cool breezes and amazing views of the shipyards and the bay.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2q4b8M_1H1CHjLt00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2q4b8M_1H1CHjLt00" width="1200" height="800" ><figcaption>The building now houses affordable apartments with incredible views. Submitted.</figcaption></figure>From classrooms to homesPublic education began in Sturgeon Bay about 170 years ago. According to Sturgeon Bay School District records, the first classes were held for 26 students during the winter of 1858-1859 in a classroom that measured just 18 by 25 feet. Early school buildings that served the community are long gone, but the former West Side Elementary School building remains.The sounds of school bells and children in the school’s classrooms went silent in 1996 when the new Sawyer Elementary School opened and the west side school closed for good. The school district formally deeded the property to the city of Sturgeon Bay in 2003 to address the community’s need for quality, affordable housing. “The city recognized the significance of the building and put the property up for sale hoping for a redevelopment project,” said Marty Olejniczak, former community development director for Sturgeon Bay.The building and adjacent property were sold to a developer, but redevelopment plans never came to fruition, partly due to the Great Recession of 2008.After a few years, the city realized that the building was deteriorating.“It needed to be rehabbed soon or it would be too late,” Olejniczak said. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3Vjl7E_1H1CHjLt00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3Vjl7E_1H1CHjLt00" width="1024" height="729" ><figcaption>For decades, one of the best views in Sturgeon Bay belonged to the children of the old Sawyer Elementary School. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, ID number W011K3N.</figcaption></figure>Given the building’s relatively small size, finding someone interested in a development project with limited returns was a tough assignment. The city and county worked together, and in 2021 an agreement was reached with Northpointe Development Company on a project using low-income housing tax credits from a county Community Development Block Grant. Andy Dumke, an owner of Northpointe Development, remembers the urgency of the project. “The roof was shot, and so there was a lot of water penetration,” Dumke said. “If [the project] wouldn’t have gotten done when it did, there’s a good chance within a year or two, the building probably would have had to be demoed.”In August of 2022 the school finally reopened with 15 affordable housing units in high demand.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0KzxWK_1H1CHjLt00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0KzxWK_1H1CHjLt00" width="1200" height="899" ><figcaption>Sawyer Lofts today. Submitted.</figcaption></figure>Saving more than a buildingShirley Senarighi, a school counselor at West Side Elementary, helped take a special part of the school to its new location. Just before West Side was going to close, Senarighi had students draw pictures of the view from the hillside. Those drawings are now part of a mural at Sawyer Elementary.“We knew that the view was one of the most special things we were going to miss about West Side School,” Senarighi said. Marge Grutzmacher taught first grade at the West Side School from 1975 until 1996. “We had kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth and fifth grade,” Grutzmacher said. “It was a delightful teaching environment. A kid who started at West Side in kindergarten belonged to every teacher in that school. It was a great, neighborhood school.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3jozvZ_1H1CHjLt00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3jozvZ_1H1CHjLt00" width="870" height="456" ><figcaption>When the school closed, students created a mural with Ellison Bay artists David and Jeanne Aurelius depicting scenes from the view out the school’s windows. That mural is now found in the new Sawyer School entryway. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.</figcaption></figure>But even back in the day, West Side School was already showing its age.Grutzmacher remembers the large original windows, which could help keep the classrooms cool on warmer days. They could be a bit challenging to open, so much so that standing on the long cabinets underneath the windows was usually a requirement.“I would get a chair and have to climb up on those cabinets and yank those windows open to let some air in,” Grutzmacher said. “And across the street was a gas station. One morning I’m up there – the kids are in the classroom and they’re hot – so their teacher is climbing up on the cabinet to open windows. And as I opened the windows, one of the guys across the street yelled, ‘Don’t jump! Don’t jump!’ at the top of his lungs. The kids thought that was hilarious.”Ah, if those bricks could talk. </div></body>

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One of the best views in Sturgeon Bay once belonged to the city’s youngest residents. Originally opened in 1921 as the Sawyer Elementary School, the brick building that sits stoically atop the hill along South Madison Avenue was one of the first public schools on Sturgeon Bay’s west side. Later, it was known as West Side Elementary School, a place where thousands of children started their educational journeys.

West Side School Lives On

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One of the best views in Sturgeon Bay once belonged to the city’s youngest residents. Originally opened in 1921 as the Sawyer Elementary School, the brick 

West Side School Lives On

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