Circa 1940s.

Irving was originally known as Ward 2 School when it was built in 1881-82 near the base of 12th Street Hill at 7th Avenue. It was renamed Irving school in 1894, presumably for author Washington Irving. Here it is shown in a winter scene, probably around 1940. The building was closed as a school in February 1970 and merged into a new Lincoln-Irving School building at the site of the old Lincoln School. On November 11, 1980, the Irving building, which by that time was privately owned, was consumed in a spectacular fire. During the 1970s, the vacant school had been used by the Jaycees for their Halloween Haunted House events. After the 1980 fire, the Irving School bell was saved by the building owner and donated to the Moline School District. Today the bell is displayed on 16th Avenue in front of the Lincoln-Irving School.

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