Bloomington High School, The Gothic, 1928, Page 6

Description:	In September of 1863 the High School proper, which was a part of thegraded system devised and introduced by Prof. D. Eckley Hunter, was putinto operation. The trustee announced that the school was free to all pupilswithin the corporation and was to be held in the new building. This newbuilding was the old tannery remodeled, standing on the site of the presentCentral School Building. After a few years the High School was moved to anew structure on the corner of Washington and Sixth Streets. This wasrather larger than most schools in use at that time and was constructed almostentirely of brick. It contained the usual hall with a cloak room on either side,the hall opening into a large room occupying most of the lower floor. Thesecond story was divided into several smaller rooms which were to be used forstudy and recitation. This building has the distinction of being the first inBloomington to be erected for the sole purpose of a high school. It was latertorn down to make room for the present Carnegie Library.In 1875 the present Central School was completed at a cost of about$13,500, and the High School was then moved into the third story of it.The building was completely modern and served to house the High School foralmost twenty-five years, although at the present only the lower grades aretaught there. At that time it, too, was considered a comparatively large building, and many people thought it an extravagant waste of money, yet the HighSchool rapidly filled up the third floor and soon became cramped in its newquarters.During the superintendency of Mr. W. H. Fertich several importantchanges were brought about in the affairs of the schools, among which wasthe moving of the High School from Central to the old building formerlyoccupied by the University. This building was purchased by the city fromthe University in 1899 for the sum of $11,500. The University had built itin 1853 but abandoned it in 1883, due to the loss of another building bylightning. It was in this school that the first annual was published and theGothic style of architecture of the building has been commemorated in thename of the annual.The High School continued to grow rapidly and the old college buildingbecame so crowded that a new building was decided upon. It was finishedand dedicated on December 4, 1914. Its cost was approximately $149,000,and it could accommodate six hundred students, making it one of the finestand largest high school buildings in the state. It was intended to care for theHigh School for a long time, but by 1923 an addition had to be made, and bythis addition the capacity of the school was more than doubled. Now, in 1928,the number of pupils enrolled is almost equal to the capacity of the buildingand is growing every year.Page Six
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloom/id/3245
Collection:	Bloomington High School

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