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Remembering when

New museum reaches out to former Monroe School students

An early photo of Monroe School from the north

The Children's Museum of Phoenix is joining with alumni of the historic Monroe School to interweave memories into the museum's exhibits so Valley children can learn about the lives of past Monroe students.

The museum is looking for memorabilia such as photos, newspaper clippings, and other items that educate about the former students' experiences, history and culture.

The Children's Museum will be housed in what was the Monroe School at 7th Street and Van Buren in downtown Phoenix. The $22.8 million museum is currently undergoing a restoration for the official opening scheduled for late 2007.

Erlinda Torres is liaison for Monroe Alumni Leadership, an advisory group formed by the museum. She says the alumni project provides former students with a unique opportunity. Those who attended Monroe can contribute archival items that will be incorporated into Phoenix's first family-themed children's museum.

"When the Children's Museum of Phoenix opens its doors in the Monroe School, just walking up the front stairs and through the majestic front door will certainly bring back warm memories for thousands of adults like myself who attended Monroe between 1913 and 1972," Torres says.

Three generations of Torres family attended Monroe, she says. Torres's mother, Arsenia, Erlinda herself and her sister Rachel (now justice of the peace for West Phoenix) went to school there.

Monroe School was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. At its peak, about 700 students attended classes each school year. Many of those students were Hispanics from the surrounding barrios, including Campito, Verde Park and others.

Kate Wells, the museum's director of development and marketing, says the alumni project organizers have applied for grants to conduct oral histories and gather historical items. The concept is to incorporate the materials and images throughout the museum, instead of separating them into one room, she adds. The Monroe history provides a way for new generations of children to connect with and imagine the lives of the generations of children that came before them.

STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE

Saving Monroe School and its history has been a struggle. The school opened on Sept. 11, 1914. Even then, the building's architecture, with its neoclassic Greek pillars and extensive use of glass window, was noticed for its uniqueness.

From the ranks of its students the school has produced judges, politicians (including the late Sen. Barry Goldwater), priests, military leaders, businesspeople, educators and professional athletes.

Frank Trejo is a former student who went on to a softball career that landed him in the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame and the Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame. Trejo, 70, lived in the nearby Campito barrio. Many of the skills later honed in softball games were first developed whacking bottle caps and tennis balls with a broomstick at Monroe, the retiree says.

"Bottle caps, broomsticks and tennis balls made my dreams come true," Trejo says.

The school was shut down in 1972. The school district cited declining enrollment as the reason. Monroe School's archives were moved to the district headquarters, where they were destroyed by a fire. "We are starting from scratch," Torres says. Later, a fire caused extensive damage to the Monroe School building.

The majestic structure languished until a developer called the Creative Financial Corp. bought the property for $760,000. The developer obtained a permit to demolish, and it appeared the building would be razed and an office building erected. However, Creative Financial allowed its option to lapse and never re-bid on the project.

The Children's Museum acquired the property from the city in 2002, says Wells. "We always had our eye on the building," she says. "We thought the building was stunning in its architecture."

Wells says the Children's Museum has organized special tours for alumni students to reacquaint themselves with the old building and its new look.