Huss School was designed by Joseph C. Llewellyn, a Chicago based architect who designed countless structures in the Midwest from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Llewellyn’s building designs ranged from banks to schools and manufacturing centers to churches; his designs were everywhere and every type of structure. One of Llewellyn’s more notable buildings was Davenport Hall at the University of Illinois, Llewellyn’s alma mater.
Huss was built for $50,000 in authorized bonds. The building was constructed and opened little more than a year after Union’s burning. Huss officially opened as the new Second Ward elementary school, which included seventh grade students, on May 19, 1919.
During the late 1960s, the Huss building was expanded. The Three Rivers school system experienced tremendous overcrowding issues during this time. To help remedy the problem at Huss, a new gymnasium and library were added on the south end. The old gymnasium room, a small space the size of two classrooms, was far too small for use as a gymnasium by the time the addition was built. While the gym extension is considered small by current standards, it at least offers the needed height for game play. The original school gymnasium was divided into two classrooms after the school extension was completed.
