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Boise High School

Excerpted from a Northwest Education Magazine (Volume 6, Number 4, Summer 2001) article by Joyce Riha Linik titled “Bricks and Mortar, Heart and Soul”

          In the heart of Boise’s downtown, just a stone’s skip from the state capitol dome, Boise High School has stood its ground for nearly a century. Built in phases between 1906 and 1922, the white brick structure is an impressive example of Classical architecture, complete with Ionic columns and a tympanum featuring a stone-carved Plato. It is a landmark for the thousands of students who have passed through its classrooms, as well as for the many residents who have seen the likes of Duke Ellington and Bing Crosby in its historic auditorium. Understandably, many were concerned in the early 1990s when the Boise School District considered closing the school’s doors to build elsewhere.         

          No one denied that the school was in a state of disrepair. The wiring was ancient, turning the old school and its antediluvian timbers into a virtual powder keg. The ceiling of the auditorium showed cracks, dangerous not only because of the possibility of plaster rain, but also because of the potential asbestos hazard it could expose. In the event of an emergency, the structure did not possess sufficient exiting routs. In short, the building wasn’t close to meeting modern safety codes.

          But the school district also recognized the implications of closing this downtown school. Research shows that neighborhood schools often serve as community anchors. The closing of such schools can have a detrimental impact on a community, alienating local students who must then be bused to faraway suburban schools, making nearby residential neighborhoods less desirable to families and lowering property values.
          Closing Boise High could have released a blight upon its vital urban community. Recognizing the threat, residents of the historic North End neighborhood adjacent to the school led the charge to save this integral piece of the community’s social fabric.
          In 1995, after several years of intense debate, the school board voted to save Boise High. And [in 2000] the National Trust celebrated the newly renovated school as a success story and a lesson for other communities to take to heart.

Laying the foundation

          The plan called for a massive renovation of the original structure, as well as the replacement of a Depression-era industrial arts building next door that couldn’t be salvaged. The renovated “Old Main” would house the humanities classes, including art, drama, language and history. The new structure would be home to computer, science, and math classes, in addition to a state-of-the-art media center, cafeteria, and auxiliary gymnasium.

	Courtesy Joyce Riha Linik

          A budget of $13.5 million was earmarked for the project. “The money came from various sources over a period of time,” says Chuck Tinder, Facility and Operations Administrator for the district, “and was saved in a planned facility fund.”
          When an initial bid far exceeded the budget, the city of Boise came to the rescue. With the Boise High renovation in mind, the city officials adopted the Uniform Code for Building Conservation (UCBC), an example of what the National Trust calls a “smart code” to encourage the rehabilitation and modernization of historic buildings.
           “Anytime you compare new construction against old construction, you run into all these fire code and life safety issues,” says Skylar Rubel of Hummel Architects, the firm that took on the Boise High project—and, incidentally, the firm that designed the original structure nearly a century ago.

Scaffolds rising

          The renovation of Old Main included: life safety upgrades (i.e., fire sprinklers, fire alarms, smoke detectors and new exiting routes); accessibility improvements to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act; the installation of new electrical, data/telephone and lighting systems; and a re-roofing. Additionally, classrooms were reconfigured to provide optimal learning environments; a special area was designed to accommodate special education facilities; the old cafeteria was transformed into an art gallery; and the administrative offices were remodeled.

          It was a messy business. Years of debris needed to be removed from the old coal shaft, described by Rubel as a “sci-fi” experience. One electrician nearly had a cardiac arrest when he discovered a body in a pitch-black vent; fortunately, it turned out to be an old Mark Twain mannequin.
          Because work continued during the school year, classrooms weren’t sitting empty. While the builders worked on one wing or floor of the building, classes were in session down the hall or stairs. As the crew finished with one area and headed for another, staff and students cleared the way with ballet-like precision, often moving classes from one room to another overnight.
          It took incredible teamwork to choreograph the building and class schedules. Great care was taken to adhere to set timetables to avoid disrupting classes.
          Not only was the project completed according to schedule, but because the team worked so efficiently together, cost savings made room for several unanticipated extras. A completed restoration of the historic auditorium was one such extra. Another extra, not included in the original plan, was the air conditioning system.
          In designing the new technology center next door, Hummel architects faced an obvious challenge. The new structure would need to tie in with the existing school design, blend with the adjacent residential and business districts, and deliver prime learning facilities.
          The resulting Frank Church Building of Technology, named after the former Idaho senator who gradated from Boise High in 1942, pays homage to the Classical elements of Old Main, but also adds a contemporary flair to the campus.

Cornerstones

          Reactions to the new-and-improved high school have been extremely positive.
“Community pride has been incredible,” says Liz Horn, an instructor at Boise since 1983. “And teachers are much happier. For years, we were functioning—the top high school in the city—in a dusty old place with faulty wiring and scarred up desks. Now we’ve got the best of everything. The old building was renovated into something beautiful, and we have a new facility for the kids that we’re really proud of. And the kids are doing even better.”

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