The Eliot School is a Classical Revival public elementary school at 4242 Grove Avenue in the Fairgrounds neighborhood, designed by William B. Ittner and completed in 1898. It was Ittner's first school commission as St. Louis School Architect — the debut of a design career that would produce more than 400 schools across the country. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, the building is now being redeveloped as the Jubilee Community Wellness Center.
When William B. Ittner was appointed St. Louis School Architect in 1897, the Eliot School was his first project. Completed in 1898 at the corner of Grove and Newstead Avenues in the Fairgrounds neighborhood, the three-story brick building exemplifies the Classical Revival style Ittner would refine and export across the country — symmetrical massing, prominent cornice, large double-hung windows admitting abundant natural light, and a formal entrance with pilasters. Named for poet and essayist T.S. Eliot's grandfather, William Greenleaf Eliot — a Unitarian minister who co-founded Washington University in St. Louis — the school served the north St. Louis community for over a century. It was recognized for its architectural and historical significance when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. St. Louis Public Schools closed the Eliot School in 2004 as part of a broader wave of district consolidations. After sitting vacant for roughly two decades, the Nat Turner Foundation announced plans to rehabilitate the building as the Jubilee Community Wellness Center, bringing health and social services back to the Fairgrounds neighborhood.
