He was appointed chairman of the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, in 1922, where he developed an innovative educational philosophy which rejected many of the features of the traditional Beaux-Arts architectural education system. The design is similar to other schools built during this period in Burlington and around Vermont from the formal, symmetrical brick facade to the classrooms flanking wide interior corridors. Its plan is typical of school houses of this type, and its design embraces the reform standards first set in 1904 by the Vermont Board of Health. These features include the multiple large windows in the classrooms to allow for natural light, a steam heating system, and modern, indoor bathrooms. The majority of the original plan and stylistic features remain intact with the exception of the front entrance porch which was removed.
Plans are underway, however, to restore the front facade, replicating the original entrance.
While the design of the H. O. Wheeler School reflects Burlington's early twentieth century progressive era investment in education, its construction also marks a period of rapid population growth occurring in the city's North End neighborhood. The later additions, although they do not contribute to the significance to the Wheeler School, also reflect the continued population growth of the North End community in the middle of the twentieth century. Although the additions were built after 1904, their construction does not intrude on the original design of the main block or the identification of the building as a school. An extensive rehabilitation of the building completed in 1994 restored the building's original front entry on the south facade. About Burlington Vermont.