Junior High Demo Photo Set #8

These were taken on February 17th and 23rd. There was little visible progress during that period. As expected they are struggling with the area under the gym which has both the massive foundation supports of the 1870's building and several unexcavated areas of original rock - mostly under the stage and orchestra pit.

Interesting to see the west wall of the gym stripped of its coverings. The inset portion in the center supports my notion that this was once the front wall of the 1870's high school, with that part being the front entrance and base of the bell tower. The Cottage Street structure (the first of the 1920's construction) was wedged in between this old high school and the street, leaving about a six foot gap which became a narrow courtyard for the 2nd and 3rd floors. The forced air heating system was constructed in the basement below this courtyard and probably used for a time to also heat the 1870's building (then being used as a Junior High). Then the gym and auditorium was added a few years later it probably made sense to simply incorporate some of the old building into them; this would explain the out of scale columns in the locker rooms below the gym floor - columns that appeared to be designed for a much greater load than the gym floor.