Meadowbrook Elementary/Junior High School was built in 1935-36 to relieve overcrowding at nearby Tandy and Sagamore Elementary Schools. In 1954, when Meadowbrook Junior High opened, the 1936 building became exclusively an elementary school. Wyatt C. Hedrick designed the original Meadowbrook School; R.F. Bull Construction was the contractor. Hedrick designed a number of Fort Worth’s public schools, in addition to many buildings at Texas Christian University and the Narcotics Farm. The Meadowbrook School is one of Hedrick’s finest public schools, exhibiting an adept handling of Renaissance/Baroque motifs. Compared to Hedrick’s nearby Carter Riverside High School, Meadowbrook exhibits a more innovative plan and a more accomplished use of classical proportion and detailing. The school has an unusual butterfly plan with a central two-story hipped roof block intersected at oblique angles by one-story end wings. The gabled two-story central bay has an elaborate entrance door with architrave surround and delicate fanlight. Fluted pilasters flank the door which is topped by an overscaled broken pediment with a large ornamental urn in its apex. Five round arch windows with flanking pilasters and architrave hoods form an arcade at the second floor. An oculus with a foliated surround penetrates the tympanum of the main gable. End gables of the side wings are also richly ornamented. The school’s original wood sash windows have been replaced by aluminum fixed pane windows. With restoration of the original window configuration, Meadowbrook Elementary School would probably be eligible for the National Register because of its architectural merit and would be a contributor to the proposed Public Schools National Register Thematic Group.
