Six-year effort culminated in new high school in 1914 -- 7/8/2007
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
By Jim McKee/For the Lincoln Journal Star
In 1897, the Lincoln School Board built a second building on the block at 15th and M streets, where the 1872 high school was located.
The new $25,000 building, which included an auditorium, was called the Administration Building while the original, to the south, was renamed Science Hall.
In 1907 the state Legislature changed education rules with laws that called for a free high school education for every Nebraska student, and while this had little effect on Lincoln, the law also stipulated that all children must remain in school until the age of 16.
Lincoln’s truant officer reported that this change alone doubled his work load. The 1907-08 school board also formed a committee to find a site for a new high school and in the short term considered dividing the auditorium into classrooms. At the June commencement exercises, 153 seniors received diplomas and the address by William Jennings Bryan was “Signs of the Times.”
The board continued to seek new sites, briefly considering building two smaller high schools, one east and one south. Students called foul, saying what was needed was one new building, and asked, “Which school will get our piano?”
The board agreed that one school would answer that and other queries at the same time. The committee was authorized to seek prices on the Davenport Tract at 22nd and J streets, the Fitzgerald or Convent site at 14th and Vine streets and other suitable spots. When the city condemned the old convent building, the board examined the possibility of doing the same with the Davenport property.
The potential sites considered were then narrowed to the existing block, lots at 14th and A, the Davenport Tract, the Davis Tract at 17th and K and a Vine Street property. Each site had positive and negative traits. The existing block would have required moving students to a temporary location while the old building was razed and replaced. Plus, there was no room for playing fields, and traffic and downtown distractions were rampant.
The Davenport Tract was near the center of Lincoln’s population, away from business and noise distractions and was near the proposed Antelope Park. Its negatives included being the site of traveling circuses and being in a low-lying swamp that might flood at any time. Also, there was no bridge over Antelope Creek and it was near the right of way of the Rock Island Railway.
The site at 17th and K streets was not only expensive at $60,000, but traffic and noise problems were obvious.
Rather than make the decision, the board sent ballots, with a sheet of pros and cons for each site, to the parents of high school age children, omitting the 14th and A property. The vote results were Davenport Tract 2,082, Davis Tract 685 and the existing block 1,864. The board approved the vote on the condition that the city approve $50,000 in bonds to buy the land from J to O and 21st to 24th streets for a city park. The Davenport Tract was then purchased at $18,171.03, a bit over the original estimates.
A 1909 election to approve $275,000 in 4 percent school bonds was declared void when no true count of ballots could be made. In 1910, the high school bonds, now valued at $315,000, failed to pass with the necessary two-thirds majority. But on May 2, 1911, $350,000 of 30-year, 4 percent school bonds were approved by a vote of 5,364 to 2,897, and all were purchased by W. E. Barkley. Perhaps the larger amount was more palatable because it provided for the construction of three buildings: Whittier Junior High School, Bancroft Elementary School and Lincoln High School.
The cornerstone, a gift from the classes of 1909 and 1911, was laid on June 20, 1913, and the following summer the Lincoln Traction Co. laid tracks down J Street to the construction site.
Despite “incompleteness,” the new “palace of learning” opened on its 16.4-acre campus on Sept. 14, 1914, but a planned November dedication had to be delayed because of an outbreak of smallpox. Lincoln’s new high school put the city on a par with Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City.
Additional high schools in Lincoln were built at Bethany in 1915, Havelock in 1917, University Place in 1918 and College View in 1920. Although Lincoln High’s first of many additions added 18 rooms in 1927, the north face looks almost identical to its 1914 opening pictures.
Historian Jim McKee, who still writes with a fountain pen, invites comments or questions. Write in care of the Journal Star or e-mail to jim@leebooksellers.com.
Post Your Comment
Standards and RulesYour posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.