Archives Closed Schools N-P: Prentice School

Other Name: George D. Prentice School, Eighth Ward School, Stevens School for the Retarded

Last Address: 525 S. Sixth Street

Year Opened: 1913

Year Closed: 1964

The Eighth Ward school, then at Ninth and Chestnut streets, was renamed for George Prentice, the famous nineteenth century editor of the Louisville Journal in 1913. The Prentice School moved to 525 S. Sixth Street in 1914 after the building was purchased from the University of  Louisville.  It had previously been a private residence, a Presbyterian school for girls, Hampton College, the Kentucky School of Medicine, and a hospital.  Prentice School added a class for retarded students in 1924. In 1964 the school became the Stevens School for the Retarded, educating only special needs students. In 1969 the school's name became Prentice again but it continued to serve the mentally handicapped.