HISTORY >> REBUILDING OUR STORIED PAST

Fourth and Stevens: a Cornertstone of Education in Spokane

Education has reigned supreme on the corner of Fourth and Stevens on the south side of Spokane for over 122 years. The land where Lewis and Clark High School now stands has been home to several different schools, including South Central High School, which was destroyed by fire in 1910. Out of the ashes of that building, with its rich educational and civic history, rose a new school that became one of Spokane's greatest architectural treasures and sources of pride.

In the late 1800s, Spokane's population was booming due to the discovery of silver in the mines in North Idaho. With increased population came a rise in the number of students who attended Central School, the second schoolhouse to be built in Spokane. The two-story, wooden building opened for classes in October of 1883.

With a continual increase of students, it became obvious that Central School needed to be divided into separate elementary and high schools. Financed by citizen-voted bonds, five new schools were built in 1891. Of these, four were elementary schools and one was a high school, named Spokane High School. Occupying the same corner where Central School had stood was the new high school, a four-story, beautiful brick building with round towers, pointed rooflines and a massive clock tower. In 1891 the first high school class in Spokane graduated with seven members. The graduating students looked forward to their graduation being the inaugural event in the auditorium of their new building. Unfortunately, Spokane College, a Methodist institution, had a graduating class of three and requested to use Spokane High School's auditorium first for their ceremony. The high school students objected; however, it is said that two of the school board members were Methodist and whole-heartedly gave their approval. The high school graduation therfore became the second event held in the auditorium.

The population of Spokane continued to grow, as did the number of students in the city. In order to accommodate the expansive student body, an additional high school was built on the north side of the river in 1908, housing 2,000 students. Naming this second school North Central High School prompted Spokane High School to change its name to South Central High School.

South Central's glory came to an abrupt and sad end, however, on June 20, 1910, when at 6:40 in the morning a fire broke out in the school. An account from the June 21, 1910 Spokane Chronicle described the scene: "At 6:30 AM on Monday June 20, a fire of unknown origin swept through the old Spokane High School, leaving it a mass of smoldering ruins. By 10 AM all that was left of the once grand old building within its schoolyard granite-stone fence was a scattering of flame-scorched office file cases pushed back onto the concrete walkway, clear of the smoldering debris."

Five thousand people, drawn by the horrifying glow of the flames and the commotion, came to watch the building burn. Among the crowd were the school superintendent and some students who bravely risked the flames to salvage files containing student scholastic records. Aside from these records, the entire building and its contents were lost. The highly visible clock tower, which stood strong and tall above the school, bleated out its final chime at 7 AM, just before it toppled to the ground. Amazingly, as the charred remains of the building continued to smolder throughout the day, a fountain on the school grounds, which was a gift of the class of 1910, sat unharmed and continued to cheerfully spout water into the air.

According to a report in the June 24-25, 1983 reunion issue of the Lewis and Clark High School newspaper, The Journal, "The board decided that since half the city's high school system was destroyed, reconstruction would begin as soon as the ashes cooled."

South Central had been completed in 1891 for $110,000 and was insured against fire by an $86,000 building policy and an $11,000 policy for furnishings. Although these funds would be available, the cost of a new building was more than the Board of Education could afford. Much of the Board's funds had been spent two years earlier to build North Central High School. Realizing they needed to rebuild the school, the Board decided to borrow $50,000 to begin financing the project and set a date of 18 months to design and complete the new building.

Spokane Summer School had been under way for one week when the fire broke out. Finding a place for these students, as well as the 2,300 that would be returning for fall term in less than sixty days, was an immediate priority. The Board thought about renting available downtown buildings to house students for the coming school year; however, this plan was not acceptable because special equipment and facilities were needed for science classes.

After some debate, it was decided that everyone would attend North Central High School where the schedule would be adjusted to accommodate so many students. Classes were shortened from six one-hour classes to five 45-minute classes and the school day was condensed to four hours. Originally North Central students were scheduled to attend classes from 8 AM-12 PM, there would be a half-hour lunch break and then South Central students would attend classes from 12:30-4:30 PM.

The two schools had been rivals, though, and officials and citizens were worried about "school ground clashes and school building rumpuses." In order to create a spirit of unity, they decided to integrate the two schools. Juniors and seniors from both schools were assigned to morning classes while freshmen and sophomores occupied the building in the afternoons.

The red and black flag of North Central and the orange and black flag of South Central flew together under a large blue and white flag that signified the unity of the schools during the rebuilding.

Transportation was a bit of a problem as students had to take trolleys to get across town to North Central High School. Like many young adolescents, they were tempted to pull the occasional prank including rocking and swaying the trolley cars or pulling trolley ropes and cutting the power to the street cars. These seemingly harmless though obnoxious pranks stopped, however, after one icy winter afternoon when two streetcars plunged from the Division Street Bridge into the chilly water and several passengers died.

Requirements for the new school included that it be modern, fireproof and cost between $300,000 and $400,000. Just weeks after the fire, McMurphy Construction Company was awarded the contract to build the new high school for $349,261. In February 1911 they received a permit to construct a building of brick, steel and concrete.

On April 9, 1911 the formal construction began the day after President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone. "You are engaged not merely in building this material building, but in building the state, for you are building the commonwealth when you train the children of the commonwealth. And the most important task before us today is to try aright the generation that is to come after us and to leave that generation the commonwealth in such shape that it will be a benefit to them," he said.

The people of Spokane got their first glimpse at the inside of Lewis and Clark High School (the name had been selected at the February 6, 1911 Board of Education meeting, in honor of Lewis and Clark who had explored the west) on April 1, 1912. Like the old South Central, the new building was yet another source of architectural pride for the city. Inside it had wide white Vermont marble staircases, an aquarium in the science laboratory that accommodated 300 brook trout, a conservatory with tropical plants, peanuts, cotton and tobacco, and a gymnasium with an indoor swimming pool. The outside of the building was equally impressive. Massive terra cotta frieze ornaments were placed at the base of the new clock tower. They were the god of Science (holding a globe), the god of Literature (holding a two foot length of scroll) and the god of Mechanical Arts (holding a cogwheel).

Lewis and Clark students were proud of their school and supported it with class gifts that set it apart from other schools. Within a few years of opening, a $40,000 art collectionÑgifts from past classesÑ graced the walls inside the school and student fundraising helped purchase a $33,000 organ for the auditorium. As each class graduated, they made their mark on the school while some even brought fame to the city. A January 17, 1925 picture in the Spokane Chronicle of graduates in rarely before seen caps and gowns carries the caption ÇIt is claimed the Lewis and Clark graduates will be the first of any American high school to break into cap and gown wearing."

Throughout the past 122 years, the corner of Fourth and Stevens has been home to numerous school buildings. From Central School to Spokane High School to South Central High School and finally, Lewis and Clark High School, the one thing that has remained the same is the city's enthusiastic support of education. This was again demonstrated in 1999 when Lewis and Clark High School students were relocated for a two-year renovation of the building. The finished product has again made the building at the corner of Fourth and Stevens a source of pride for the city of Spokane.