The Old Washington School at 1910 California Street in Eureka now serves as the main building of the Humboldt Senior Resource Center.  It began its long life as one of six square school houses built at the turn of the century in Eureka, and is the only one to have escaped the wrecker’s ball. Its Colonial Revival detailing has been simplified or lost throughout the years. In 1999, the Historic Preservation program of College of the Redwoods restored the original second-story balustrade which reintroduced one of the prominent decorative elements to the building.

The building has been used continually since it opened as a grammar school in 1902. After its life as a school building ended in 1938, it was used as a barracks during WWII, housed the Coast Guard, Red Cross and served as a courthouse, was a warehouse for the Eureka School District and finally, from 1984 to the present, has been a community senior center.  Some of the seniors who participate in our present-day programs attended school here as children.

On January 17, 2002, the Old Washington School was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its historic significance in Eureka and Humboldt County.