Est. 1909 · Duarte Educational History · Former School Building
The Duarte school history at Buena Vista Street is documented by the Duarte Historical Society. The site's first school building burned in 1908. The replacement structure, built in 1909, served as Duarte's only school until 1925, when additional facilities were established for the growing community. The building continued as an active school until the early 1950s, then transitioned to administrative use for the Duarte Unified School District.
The administrative function continued until the early 1990s, when the building was vacated. The Old Spaghetti Factory — the Italian-American family restaurant chain with multiple California locations — moved into the building in 1997, converting the former school into a dining facility that preserved much of the building's character.
One circulating legend — that a male principal hanged himself in his office, now the most popular dining room — has been explicitly investigated and debunked by the Duarte Historical Society, which could not find any documentation of such an event. Furthermore, the Historical Society's records indicate that all of the school's principals were women, making the 'male principal' element factually inconsistent with the building's documented history. The debunking is confirmed in multiple sources.
Sources
- http://ghoula.blogspot.com/2010/03/marchs-spirits-with-spirits.html
- http://www.echoesofthesouthwest.com/2010/06/old-spaghetti-company-pasta-and-ghosts.html
ApparitionsPhantom soundsPhantom footstepsDisembodied laughter
The haunting accounts at the Duarte Old Spaghetti Factory are notable for their specific consistency with the building's known history as a schoolhouse. Staff describe hearing the sounds of children playing in adjacent rooms late at night — running footsteps, laughter, the particular quality of noise produced by a group of children — in spaces that have been confirmed empty. The sounds are described as coming from rooms where the layout matches former classroom configurations.
Apparitions of children have been reported by staff working alone in the building after closing. The figures are described as small and appearing briefly before disappearing.
The most widely circulated legend — that a principal hanged himself in his office, and that this office is now the restaurant's most popular dining room — has been formally investigated. The Duarte Historical Society found no documentation of any principal's death at the school, and their records confirm that all of the school's principals throughout its operational history were women. The specific claim has been debunked at the source rather than simply unverified.
What remains are the consistent staff reports of children's sounds and apparitions — which, in the context of a building that spent 40 years as an active elementary school, carry a different interpretive weight than the same accounts from a warehouse or office building.
Notable Entities
Children of the Former Schoolhouse
