FYI: Success Stories -
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NOTE: School
Board President is quoted:
o
“I think the public is going to be very
impressed with the building. Again, we’ve had the option of going a
different route – back when the architect had 24 options for us to choose
from. We did not have to rebuild this. But,
there’s no question in my mind – we made the right decision."
“Giving Old Schools New Life”,
Pennsylvania
School
http://www.saveourlandsaveourtowns.org/PSBABulletin0806.html
Passionate community involvement
saved the former Hazleton High School from the wrecking ball and paved the way
for its reincarnation this fall as an elementary/ middle school. The 1926
school, known as “the Castle on the Hill” because of its turrets
and other Collegiate Gothic elements, was closed in June 1998 and slated to be
demolished for a new school. An auction was conducted in which its oak
doors, built-in cabinets, brass chandeliers and other fixtures were extracted
and carted away. But after a rally called by citizens determined to save
the school, then-Hazleton Mayor Michael Marsicano refused to issue a demolition
permit. “A lot of people loved that school,” says
Gilbert Degenhart, a 1947 graduate who championed keeping the building during
his four years on the Hazleton Area School Board. “After the mayor
held up demolition, we had volunteers – we called them the castle keepers
– who patched the roof, cleaned up trash, and checked the building every
day to make sure it was secure.” One castle keeper even obtained the
original auditorium doors and chandeliers so they could eventually be
reinstalled.
In 2003, the school board hired
architect Vern McKissick to evaluate the building. “It was a
fantastic structure,” McKissick says. “It was more
substantial than anything we would build today. I told the board, I might
not be able to renovate the building for less cost than new construction, but I
could do it a year faster.” As it turns out, the project will cost
about $3.5 million less than a new school of comparable size, even with the
cost of rebuilding the turrets that had been removed from the towers flanking
the main entrance.
“When you stop and think about
it, it’s the only building in
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In 1928, |
The Hazleton High School Board hired
McKissick in 2003 to draw up plans for remodeling the school dubbed
"Castle on the Hill" by area residents. Originally built in 1928, the
school has the appearance of a castle, dominated by two turreted towers and a
broad masonry arch over the entrance. Like the coal industry, the school was a
casualty of diminishing prosperity and was closed in the 1990s. A grassroots
"Save the Castle" movement sprouted and successfully defended the
edifice from the wrecking ball. McKissick Associates goal is to convert
it to a functional school building for third- through eighth-graders while
preserving its historic integrity. To achieve this goal, the architectural firm
has located photos of the building as it was being constructed, the original
concept drawings, and the original blueprints. Such information allows the
staff to base their renovations on historic archetype, rather than guessing
about what original building designer's intent. "The original plans
for the building call for two additions, actually wings for either side of the
central structure," said McKissick. "One was erected, but the other
wasn't. So, in a way, you could say that we're finishing the original
plans." With the major reconstruction work for the "Castle on
the Hill" already underway, it is expected that the school will open for
the 2006&endash;07 school term. According to McKissick, "To be able to
combine architecture, historic preservation and education in a complete package
is a truly rewarding experience for us."
Amey