Historic Challenge Faces Lc Remodeling Project Must Balance Past And Future, District 81 Says

When Spokane School District opted to renovate Lewis and Clark High School rather than rebuild, it was partly due to ardent public interest in the historic building.

But district officials must now decide how to balance that history with the future.

“Our commitment and promise was we can preserve this building, but also that we can make it adequate to support education for the next 50 to 60 years and we can make it safe,” said superintendent Gary Livingston. “That’s the promise we made.”

But some historic preservationists feel betrayed by the district, which they say is giving lip service to LC’s past.

The public will get a chance to discuss the renovation of the city’s oldest high school building during two public hearings this month.

Spokane District 81 will unveil preliminary designs for the $41 million Lewis and Clark High School renovation, which is scheduled to go to bid next summer.

The first meeting is Wednesday.

Nostalgic alumni have long advocated remodeling the 86-year-old Gothic-Tudor structure over abandoning it. A February bond issue that will help pay for the work was overwhelmingly approved by voters, thanks in part to heavy campaigning by LC fans.

But the remodel is a challenge - fitting a suitable 21st-century school into a building dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt nearly 100 years ago.

The answer, says Livingston, must be a compromise.

Along with preservation and education, the district must consider safety issues and the final price tag, he said.< “All four issues have to be considered,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out what is the balance.”

Current designs show LC’s campus expanding eastward to include a new fieldhouse and a skybridge over Stevens.

The library will double in size to 6,000 square feet and move to the basement.

A little-used cafeteria will be done away with and replaced with serving stations throughout the school. Classroom space would be evened out to average 850 square feet. LC’s exterior would be preserved, as would the interior terrazzo floors and marble and oak features.

But members of Spokane Preservation Advocates are so concerned over the remodel they’ve formed a “Friends of LC” subcommittee to keep an eye on the project.

“It’s been disappointing and dismaying working with the school district,” said committee chair Steve Franks.

Franks said the district has made an effort by meeting with the group, but he’s disappointed that the district isn’t more creative with their design to preserve more of LC.

Most at issue are the school’s open stairways and the brick administration building that survived the 1910 fire that destroyed the rest of South Central, LC’s predecessor. The so-called “annex” is attached to the main building on the east end.

The district’s designs show two options - remodeling the annex or replacing it.

About 89 percent of LC’s faculty voted to replace the annex with a new addition, which would be cheaper than remodeling. Among other problems, the annex does not match up with the main building on three of four floors.

But preservationists call the annex a link to the school’s history.

Demolishing the annex would mean the school would likely lose its place on the National Register of Historic Places.

The local Landmarks Commission has already vowed to recommend LC be removed from the register if the annex is razed.

The school could reapply for the status after renovation, but such a request might not be welcomed by the preservation community.

Getting renamed to the register would take a lot of support from local and state preservation officials, said Teresa Brum of the local Historic Preservation Office.

“It’s going to be no secret what happened,” she said. “Getting LC back on the register would not be easy.”

There is also disagreement about the open stairways that connect all four floors.

Because of modern safety codes, the stairs will need to be sealed off and the floor space recaptured for storage and wing space.

New stairs would be added in the corners of the school.

The set of stairs flanking the auditorium would remain open between the first and second floors in what architect Steve McNutt called a “nostalgic concession.”

Preservationists say a concession isn’t enough - they want the whole structure left intact.

The stairways might be acceptable with a sprinkler and smoke evacuation system. but such work wouldn’t be cost-effective, said officials. Consultants would have to be brought in for the planning.

In the end, there is one thing all sides can agree on - no one is surprised by the intense feelings stirred by LC.

“This building is really, really important to the community,” said Livingston. “It should be something the community will be proud of for decades.”

HEARING Spokane District 81 will hear public comment on preliminary designs for the Lewis and Clark High School remodel at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Aug. 18 in the school auditorium. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for an informal tour.