20th century Monroe Street School chandeliers bring light to modern era

The Franklin Square Historical Society is set to open the doors to its new museum to the public, displaying, among many artifacts, a chandelier that once illuminated the auditorium at Monroe Street School during the 20th century. “The Monroe Street School brass chandelier is one of three which once illuminated the auditorium of Monroe Street School, a place on the north side of the building,” said Dr. Paul Van Wie, the society’s founder and president, in a statement.

The chandeliers were part of the auditorium in 1925-1926, when the auditorium itself was added to the original 1912 structure. Donated to the historical society when the school was demolished in 1980, the chandeliers were placed in storage for thirty-six years. In 2016, when they were rewired and restored for placement in the new museum through funding from the Franklin Square Girl Scouts.

During the early design of the museum in the 2000s, the chandeliers were featured in the organization’s planning process. After being fully illuminated for the first time in their new home in 2017, the chandeliers are set to be “a stately focus of the main exhibition space in the museum,” van Wie said in the statement.

“The chandeliers are and were intended to be, a symbolic bridge between the architectural heritage of the Franklin Square community and the new museum facility,” van Wie said in the statement.

20 years after deciding to design a brand-new museum building near Rath Park, the museum’s planned 2020 opening was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The museum officially opened one year later, during late April. During the spring, the historical society invited its members to the museum in small groups for 20-minute tours. The original plan was to open the museum to the public by late summer, but the museum is slated to open soon for public tours.

If you would like further information about the Franklin Square Historical Society visit its website at www.fshistoricalsociety.org for updates on the museum’s opening, or to join the society and receive its monthly newsletter.