St. Lucie High School & Fort Pierce Elementary School

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

This complex of buildings is now a school called the Creative Arts Academy of St. Lucie, but it has served the educational needs of the community for over a century and is the oldest school in the county. The original building, located at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Preston Court, was erected in 1914 and became the county's first high school. Directly east of the building is another historic building constructed in 1924. The two structures were designed in the Mission Revival style and are similar in appearance. Both feature a cream-colored brick exterior, a red-tile roof, and bell towers. The complex includes a number of modern buildings as well.

Images

The former St. Lucie High School and Fort Pierce Elementary School is the oldest school in the county. This building was constructed in 1924 and is part of a complex of buildings that is now home to the Creative Arts Academy of St. Lucie.

Built in 1914 and expanded in 1926, this is the original building on the school's campus.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Architect W.B. Camp designed the first building, which is 395 feet long. It was also the first building the county designed in the Mission Revival style. Although it was apparently called a St. Lucie High School, it also contained the elementary and middle schools as well. By the early 1920s, the building had become too small for the growing population. As a result, the 1924 building was erected and operated as the high school. Two years later, an addition was built on the 1914 building to ease overcrowding once again. The original buildings were constructed using high-quality materials and are very sturdy, so much so that they were used as hurricane shelters.

It appears the high school moved to another location in 1954 and at that point both buildings started operating as Fort Pierce Elementary School. A number of prominent individuals attended the school, including former Florida Governor Daniel McCarty, who graduated from the high school in 1930. Unfortunately, his term as governor was short lived; he died of a heart attack in September, 1953 after having served just nine months in office. At some point the school was became the Fort Pierce Magnet School for the Arts. The two original buildings are listed together on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sources

Atterbury, Andrew. "Reimagining the Fort Pierce Magnet School of the Arts: CAST will debut this fall." TCPalm. May 9, 2018. https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/education/st-lucie-county-schools/2018/05/09/oldest-school-st-lucie-county-reopening-arts-school/368232002.

Bennett, Mary A. & Zimny, Michael F. "St. Lucie High School." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. January 26, 1984. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/c286aa63-4249-43cb-a6de-dd1d940672c7.

"St. Lucie High County School/Fort Pierce Elementary School." St. Lucie Historical Society. Accessed March 30, 2021. https://stluciehistoricalsociety.net/st-lucie-county-history/st-lucie-county-high-school-fort-pierce-elementary/

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Both images via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:St._Lucie_High_School

Additional Information

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: St. Lucie High School