Torry Gymnasium

When the high school was built on Bondurant Street in 1942, its enrollment hovered around 250 students. What is now referred to as the "west gym" was the only venue for all P.E. classes, sporting events, and graduations. Needless to say, as the years ticked by and enrollment grew, the gym became too small.

Just ten years after the opening of the school on Bondurant, enrollment doubled and calls for a new gym began.  For one basketball game, it was reported that Pontiac had only been allotted 115 tickets for their fans, and Washington police warned in the Pontiac newspaper for fans not to make the trip to Washington if they did not have a ticket.

In 1956, due to the overcrowding of physical education classes, athletes in two sports, tumbling or orchesis, were exempt from taking P.E.  Also, in 1956, the State Department of Education declared Washington's facilities inadequate.

In 1958, the P.E. exemption was expanded to include ALL Seniors.

In 1959, the athletic participation exemption was reduced to one sport.

By 1960, the school enrollment had ballooned to over 600, and something needed to be done.  The WCHS school board sent two proposals to the voters for approval.  One was for an academic wing, and the other was for a new gymnasium.  The proposed new gymnasium would cost over $500,000 and look like the picture below.

The academic wing was approved in the December 1960 election, but the gymnasium failed by less than 100 votes out of around 2,000 votes cast. Three months later, the same proposal was put up to the voters with basically the same results.

In 1961, the PE exemption was extended to all Juniors.  WCHS officials went back to the drawing board in late 1961 and decided that the original design looked too modern and expensive, scaring voters. A new design was created with more lines and squares.

In February 1962, one year after the second defeat, a third attempt was made to pass the referendum for a new gymnasium.  Even though the amount of money was the same, the new design must have made a difference because, this time, voters approved the construction of the building.

Washington company DEL Construction received the bid for the contract, and work commenced in July 1962.

Initially, the goal was to have the gym ready for the 1963 graduation, but that did not occur, and an open house for the general public was held on September 12, 1963.

During the 1989 graduation ceremony, it was announced that as a tribute to retiring Superintendent Ray Torry, the "east gym" would be renamed "Torry Gymnasium."  Torry's response to the honor: "You could have given me a million dollars, and it would not have meant as much."  The official dedication took place at a game on December 8, 1989.