Coronado School is a historic elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

 in the Barelas

Barelas

Barelas is an inner-city neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico, located immediately south of Downtown. It consists of the triangular area bounded by Coal Avenue, the BNSF railroad tracks, and the Rio Grande. Originally a separate village, it was absorbed into Albuquerque during the...

 neighborhood of Albuquerque

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

. Built in 1936–37 as a Public Works Administration

Public Works Administration

The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...

 project, it is the city's third-oldest operating elementary school. Coronado School was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties

New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties

The New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties is a register of historic and prehistoric properties located in the state of New Mexico. It is maintained by the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. The Cultural Properties Review Committee...

  and the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1996.

History

The school was built by the PWA at a cost of $125,000 and opened in 1937. It was designed by Louis G. Hesselden, who was the architect for Albuquerque Public Schools at the time. Coronado operated as an elementary school until 1975, when it was converted to administrative use.

In 2006, with Downtown Albuquerque

Downtown Albuquerque

Downtown Albuquerque is the central business district of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is where a large number of the city's highrise buildings are located, as well as being the center of government and business for the region....

 experiencing a resurgence and existing inner-city schools becoming crowded, APS began exploring the possibility of reopening Coronado. After securing funding for this purpose, the district embarked on an $8.3 million project to return the school to service. This included restoring the main building to its original appearance and making it ADA-compliant, as well as adding a new gym, cafeteria, library, media center, and playground. Coronado Elementary officially reopened for the 2009–10 school year on August 24, 2009.