Groups Work To Preserve Lc ‘Annex’

Opponents of plans to demolish Lewis and Clark High School’s 1908 administration building are continuing their efforts to block the demolition, even as architects move forward with designs for the building’s replacement.

Spokane Preservation Advocates has applied for a $2,500 National Trust for Historic Preservation grant. The money would be used with SPA funds to hire a consultant to explore the possibility of a lawsuit to block the demolition.

Another group, Save the Annex Project, will hold a second open house at the administration building to rally community support. The group is planning to ask the school board in December to reconsider its decision.

The District 81 school board voted in September to get rid of the so-called annex as part of a $41 million LC renovation and expansion. Architects and teachers say the space is inefficient.

But demolishing the annex likely will mean the school will lose its place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Save the Annex Project chairman James DePaolo said the Dec. 5 open house will measure community support for saving the annex.

“It’s just one more rally,” he said. “It’s just one more venue to advertise our cause.

“We need to measure the public’s awareness.”

Meanwhile, the district has settled on a design for a new building planned for the annex site.

A 12-classroom, four-story addition will be built onto the east end of LC. A skywalk will connect that to a new gym facility across Stevens Street.

“It would appear this would be the design. That’s the recommendation,” said district capital projects director Ned Hammond.

Architects drafted close to a dozen ways to replace the annex. The options ranged from adding a U-shaped structure on the west end of the school to building a one-story wing along Fifth Avenue.

The options were presented to a citizens advisory committee composed of district officials, LC teachers and members of the Spokane City-County Historic Landmarks Commission.

The committee voted for the 12-classroom design, but Spokane City-County Historic Preservation Officer Teresa Brum said she couldn’t endorse the design because it obscures too much of the school’s east facade.

District officials say the four-story design works best for several reasons.

It is among the least expensive designs.

Also, they need to keep the west end of the school free of new construction. The field house on the plaza now will be demolished, leaving the area as grassy space.

This space may be needed for physical education playfields if the district can’t afford to purchase the block southeast of the school.

The district would like to buy two blocks to expand the LC campus. Officials are still in negotiation for properties on the block east of the school, which includes the Outlaw Restaurant. That block will house the gym addition.

District officials won’t know until next summer, when construction bids go out, whether they’ll have enough money left to purchase the southeast block as playfield space.

LC students currently walk four blocks from the school for P.E. space.