The history of Hans Christian Andersen Elementary is a complex one consisting of two parallel time lines that converge in the year 1932.

One timeline takes us back to 1884 when Hans Christian Andersen Elementary was erected at the intersection of Lincoln & Division Streets. In 1893 an addition that would eventually become the Andersen Educational and Vocational Guidance Center, now known as the Andersen Upper Grade Center, was constructed. Today, Andersen Elementary, along with the U.G.C., still stands at the site of its original construction, though its address is now 1148 N Honore Street.

The other timeline is the more intricate one, extending back to1855 when School #8 was constructed at the intersection of Warren & Page Streets. By 1859 this school building had been relocated to Reuben & Cornelia Streets, where it was known as School #12. It wasn’t until the 1864-65 academic year that the school received an actual namesake, that of Superintendent William H. Wells. In 1866, when a newly-erected building opened on the same site under the name William H. Wells School, the building that had been moved from Warren & Page Streets to Reuben & Cornelia Streets moved once again to the corner of Reuben & Wabansia to house the Rolling Mill Primary School.

When the city decided to widen Ashland Avenue, part of Wells School had to be dismantled. Thus, by the fall of 1930, Wells students were relocated to portables placed on the grounds of the Hans Christian Andersen School. Shortly thereafter, the buildings on the former Wells School site were razed, and a new school was erected in their place (the new school, confusingly enough, would also be named “Wells”).

On June 15, 1932, the Wells School portables on the Andersen site officially combined with Andersen to make one school under the name Hans Christian Andersen Elementary, which, as stated before, is still open today at 1148 N Honore Street.