Spiffed-Up Lc Art Back On Display

Thu., Jan. 15, 1998

Amy Scribner Staff writer

A woman walked into the Lewis and Clark High School cafeteria Saturday morning. She came prepared.

“I’m here to get dirty,” she announced. “Which direction do I go?”

LC staff, students and parents met over the weekend with members of the Spokane Preservation Advocates, a non-profit group that works on historic preservation projects. Their goal was to rehang several works of art rescued from ruin over the past two years.

LC’s art collection includes 436 pieces donated from students through the years. While the collection may not have a large monetary value - most of the pieces are reproductions - it is a school legacy.

On the second floor is a photo of the interior of the Notre Dame cathedral, courtesy of the class of 1912. Next to it hangs a view of the Acropolis, thanks to the class of 1913.

The collection was started even before LC officially existed. Some of the works hung in the halls of South Central High School, which stood on the same site until it burned down in 1910.

But time and grime had left many of the framed pieces looking more like junk. Many had spent half a century in a closet, subject to heat and water damage.

How bad was it?

“You can see color now,” said custodian Tim Potts, pondering a cleaned-up reprint inspired by composer Richard Wagner.

Restoring the works has become a community project.

Linda Storey, an LC parent and owner of a local framing business, founded LC ART two years ago. The restoration team of 60 aimed to dust off and catalogue the collection.

A local Eagle Scout made it his Eagle project to work on the collection.

And last Saturday, students pitched in. Never mind that it meant extra credit for most.

Sisters Melissa and Kim Watson spent the morning at a cafeteria table, scraping glue and old paint off the frames. They said they both liked the historical pieces best.

“It’s really cool,” said Kim, a senior. “We went to Europe last year and saw a bunch of stuff.

“I got back and walked down the halls and saw the same things up on the wall here.”

, DataTimes

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