Washington Elementary School — A Look Back

When built, the Washington School featured its basement boiler room, stage and assembly room, three storage rooms, and two “toilets.”

The first three schools in Twin Falls—Bickel, Lincoln, and the first Twin Falls High School—were two-story, red brick buildings. The Washington School broke this pattern with its gray stucco walls and single-story construction.

The school was built in a unique “L” shape.

High school students on Shoshone Street, who could see the grade school from the second story windows of their building, called the “Tombstone” Washington School.

The school was just outside the city limits where Albertson’s is now. Back then, Addison Avenue and Blue Lakes Boulevard marked the northern and eastern edges of the city.

Washington School was within reach for families living on the outskirts of Twin Falls. But its convenient location — where Addison Avenue, Blue Lakes Boulevard and Shoshone Street intersect — led to its eventual demise.

As Twin Falls continued to grow, so did the traffic on the three streets in front of Washington School.

Many of the school’s students had to cross two of the streets before and after school – and many went home for lunch at lunchtime.

Finally, a traffic light was installed at the intersection and teachers were assigned to traffic. In 1959, the Twin Falls Police Department took over this task.

A student safety patrol was created to assist the traffic policeman at the intersection.

The safety patrol was made up of 6th graders who had good grades and showed responsibility. They wore red caps and orange Sam Browne belts and carried long poles with red flags on the end.

Every school day—morning and afternoon—the safety patrol was stationed at each of the five corners of the intersection. The policeman would insert a key into a control box on a pole in the corner of the school. When turned, the key triggered the traffic light, stopping all traffic.

The student lieutenant would give the order and the safety patrol would lower their flags in the oncoming traffic lane as other students made their way safely through the intersection.

In 1975, Washington School was torn down and replaced by Sawtooth Elementary School in a neighborhood with less traffic.