This 6 1/2" x 4 1/2" black and white photograph shows a two-story brick building with a sloped lawn and steps leading up to the front door. The building has several windows on each floor and a double door in front. "Public School" appears in stone over the door, with the date 1910 split around it, two digits on each side. The building has a flat roof, with a gable over the middle section. An American flag hangs from a tall flagpole in front of the building, and there are trees and bushes on the school grounds.
Omaha Public School Archive Collection / Educational Research Library
Local Accession/Call Number
Archive Files: Robbins School File
Historical Notes
This building carried three names during its history. It was originally called Franklin School when it began life as a South Omaha school in 1910. The name was changed to South Franklin in 1915, when Omaha annexed the area and the school became part of the Omaha School District. The name was changed again, on March 5, 1928, to Robbins School, in memory of two brothers, Melvin and Charles Robbins. It is the only school in Omaha (perhaps in the country) named for students. On the morning of February 21, 1928, the Robbins's home caught fire. The two boys carried their bed-ridden mother to safety through a bedroom window. Both boys suffered severe burns and smoke inhalation. Nine-year-old Melvin died of his injuries the next day. Eleven-year-old Charles recovered, only to lose his life later that year when the coaster wagon he and a friend were riding in was hit by a car as they were crossing 42nd Street. The school was closed in 1994, when it was replaced by Ashland Park-Robbins School.
