Built in 1872 and named for abolitionist Charles Sumner, the Sumner School at 17th and M Streets NW is also one of the first commissioned specifically for freed slaves after the Civil War. Renovated in the 1980s, it now houses a museum and the D.C. Public School Archives.
Over the years, the District has built and then discarded many beautiful schools. Here's a good selection of particularly historic buildings, some of which have made their way back into good use, and others that are still sitting.
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