I'd love to unroll all the advertisements on these columns and study them up close. This kind of beautiful hand-lettering is a lost art.

I went to this school!!! From 1957 to 1964. I thought it had been built about 1929 or so.

[The cornerstone for the parish school was laid in August 1923; the building was completed in 1924. - Dave]

From the map, it looks like this archway may have been placed at the corner of Grant Circle and Varnum Street. It would serve both as an entranceway and as advertising for passing traffic.

The band list is rather unremarkable until you get to the very last entry; that is, The United States Marine Corps Band! Now, that's fit for a President.
Semper Fi!

If the most beautiful man just happened to also be the tallest and most freckled, have the neatest bobbed hair, and eat the most pies, everybody else just gave up and went for a Dikeman's Frozen Orange Beverage™ while studiously avoiding N. Auth's bitter sibling M. Auth, whose slogan was "Not the best meat, but you can't afford my brother."

The St. Gabriel parish held an annual summer carnival throughout the 1920s. The carnival featured dancing, live music and contests such as a male beauty contest, neatest bobbed hair, most freckled-face, tallest man, and pie-eating.

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St. Gabriel's Carnival
Contest Will be Novel

Fat Men, Handsome Men, Flappers
and Red-Heads to Vie for Honors

Contests for fat men, handsome men, flappers and red-headed girls will feature the carnival and lawn fete of St. Gabriel's church at the parish grounds, Grant circle and Webster street, July 11 to 21. An outdoor automobile show will also be a feature and on each a well-known band will play.

The men's beauty contest, which created citywide interest at this carnival last year, will occupy the place of honor among contestants again this year. Seven entrants have already turned their names in to T.A. McNamara, at 409 Varnum street northwest, the registrar for the contest.

The band concerts will be given by the following: U.S. Navy band, the K. of C. band, the Herald-Times band, the Elks band, St. Martin's Boy Scout band, St. Mary's Industrial School band, Holy Name band, and the U.S. Marine band.

Thirty large booths will house amusement novelties and there will be dancing. On several evenings the dance music will be broadcast by local radio stations.

Washington Post, June 28, 1925

It's the St. Gabriel School, 510 Webster St. NW

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