Former Site of St. Joseph Girls' School

Former Site of St. Joseph Girls' School

The Former Site of St. Joseph Girls' School is a Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Former Site of St. Joseph Girls' School

No. 242 Zizhi Street, Jianghan District, Wuhan No. 19 High School

Built between 1923–1925

Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit

This building was designed by Cesare Saccardo, one of Italy’s most renowned architects at the time. It features a tripartite composition, with red brick exposed walls, and pink-white plaster above and below the windows—creating a striking red-and-white contrast. The main structure is built with a brick-wood frame and follows a symmetrical layout. It has four floors above ground (including one mezzanine), and one basement level. The facade is divided horizontally into five and vertically into three sections. At the center of the ground floor is the main entrance flanked by two columns, above which extends a four-column open porch with Doric-style columns. This is a Renaissance-style building that is both elegant and majestic.

The roof is covered with red tiles. The rear of the building is U-shaped, with symmetrically protruding side sections serving as two matching annexes. The upper parts of these annexes on the third and fourth floors form tapered mezzanines. The third and fourth floors feature narrow strip windows that contrast with the large windows of the first and second floors, adding a lively touch to the architecture. The classrooms are spacious and bright, with ceiling heights of over four meters, and wooden shutters installed outside the glass doors and windows. The corridors are wide, with the broadest section exceeding four meters, and the flooring is finished with polished terrazzo.

The teaching building of St. Joseph Girls' School is well-preserved and has been in continuous use as a classroom facility—a rarity among old schools in Wuhan. The school’s early motto, “Tranquility, Reverence, Purity, and Excellence,” helped nurture many refined and educated women in Wuhan. Some say that St. Joseph Girls' School, founded by Sister Bertha, the head of the Italian Catholic Canossian Daughters of Charity convent, served as an important cradle for the refined ladies of the Three Towns (Wuhan).