The once-segregated Dunbar School is being renovated and will soon house an African-American Museum and Cultural Center, a plan that aims to improve the state of the aged building.
The process, which will take up to five years and cost up to $5 million to complete, is the first step in turning what was once an eyesore into the gem of the Dunbar Spring neighborhood that surrounds it.
“I think we are the centerpiece for the Dunbar Springs neighborhood,” said Cressworth Lander, president of the Dunbar Coalition.
The school, which was completed in 1918 and named after the acclaimed African-American poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, functioned as a segregated school until 1951. After desegregation, the school continued as John Spring Junior High School, until its permanent closure in 1978.
What began as a small, two-room school, big enough for only 40 students, became a two-acre, 51,000-square-foot building, dominating an entire city block.
Since its inception, the Dunbar school has undergone many renovations,mostly to create additional space to house the growing student body. The school began to grow after the depression and by 1948 had about 400 students.
The building is also home to a barber school, a dance school and a food service and catering academy.
The renovation, which is planned to preserve the historic building, will also feature a museum and cultural center, housing artifacts and memorabilia of early African-American settlers and Buffalo Soldiers, who served on the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment during the American Civil War.
“There’s a sense in the community that the African-American community of the neighborhood is being lost,” said Ian Fritz, president of the Dunbar Spring Neighborhood Association. “This is recognizing the role that they have played."
Dunbar started as a poor facility with limited resources, but eventually became a fully funded Tucson Unified School District facility. One thing that has never changed is the school’s dedication to education.
“While we had second-class classrooms and second-class books, they [teachers] provided what we needed. Dedicated to making sure we learned, they pushed you to your limits academically,” said Lander, an alumnus of the school.
In the years after it closed, homeless people inhabited the empty facility which was slowly degenerating, creating a negative image for the Dunbar Spring neighborhood, Lander said.
In 1993, the Dunbar Coalition was created to acquire the school and to raise funds for a rehabilitation project.
The vacant building was used mainly for storage until 1995, when TUSD sold the facility to the Dunbar Coalition for $25. This move saved the City of Tucson approximately $1 million in demolition costs, which would have been the fate of the school had it not been purchased, Lander said.
When initial renovation plans were made, tuition from the school’s academies provided money for day-to-day operation of the building. After receiving $821,000 as part of a $1.2 million bond from the Pima County Board of Supervisors in May 2004, the Dunbar Coalition began its efforts to remake the school.
The main effort of the renovation’s first phase, now underway, is to improve the security of the building by constructing a new entry way on the east side of the building, said Lander. The first floor remodel was completed with a federal grant of $900,000 and contains the individual academies.
The second phase will focus on turning the second floor of the building into a K-5 charter school. However, additional funding is needed to complete this part of the project.
“This neighborhood has been improving in terms of residents and the entire concept of what a neighborhood should be,” said Lander.
Although renovation is not complete, the Dunbar Springs neighborhood has already benefited from the project. Children are free to use the basketball courts, which are equipped with lighting for nighttime play.
“[Dunbar Spring] has looked to Dunbar as the lead in the total renovation of the neighborhood,” said Lander.
For the residents of the neighborhood, this renovation could provide a positive impact for the entire Dunbar Spring community.
“Neighbors seem to be really excited about the renovation. It’s been a long time coming,” Fritz said.
