A Historical Study of the Emergence of Elementary School Auditoriums and Multi-purpose Rooms in the United States in the Early 20th Century

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It was not until the late 19th century that elementary school buildings in the United States began to have auditoriums. Elementary school buildings were mostly one-room schoolhouses in the 19th century. Progressive educational reformers, influenced strongly by John Dewey's educational philosophy, aimed to give school children various kinds of activities, and to connect the school and community. They regarded the auditorium as one of the most useful means for the purposes, and, especially in large cities where large school building with many classrooms became prevalent, auditoriums were usually included in school plants in the early 20th century.However, in the middle of the 20th century, large auditoriums in elementary schools became unpopular and were often replaced by multi-purpose rooms. The reason was that progressive educators began to consider multi-purpose rooms more suitable for children's various kinds of learning and free participation in group activities.