DEDICATE $300,000 HIGH SCHOOL
BEAUTIFUL NEW BUILDING WILL BE OPENED FOR INSPECTION BY THE PUBLIC FOR THE FIRST TIME TOMORROW
Dedication of the new $300,000 high school building which has been under construction for the last two years will take place tomorrow evening in the gymnasium of the new building at 7:30 pm with appropriate exercises. The building will be opened for public inspection for the first time tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm at which time guides will be provided to show the public through the fine new structure. Taxpayers who have been digging deep into their pockets to pay for the new school will welcome this opportunity to look over the building and to be present at the dedicatory program.
While the building is not entirely completed, enough has been finished to answer some of the immediate needs of the overcrowded high school. The gymnasium and the lower floor are ready for use but the auditorium and the second-floor class rooms are still incomplete. The A.M. World-Mark construction company of this city erected the structure, the plans and specifications being prepared by the well-known firm of architects, Tyrie and Chapman of St. Paul. The building is constructed of a variegated color face brick, trimmed with white Bedford stone, having its 176-foot front facing south. It is 152 feet deep and the main walls are 34 feet high. The entire exterior of the building looks nearly as ornamental as the front. In the center of the building the walls of the auditorium tower 16 feet above the rest of the roof. The main entrance at the center of the building is simply and artistically designed, supported by four large white stone columns. Upon entering this portal, one stands in what is called the loggia just within which is the vestibule, both large and spacious. Passing through the vestibule, one arrives in the main corridor of the first floor which runs around a square space 104 feet wide and 76 deep in the center of the building. Inside of this enclosed space on the first floor is the gymnasium, 45×70, with galleries on each side about 14 feet wide. The floor of the gymnasium is in the basement and the room extends clear up to the ceiling of the first floor. Daylight is introduced into the gym by means of large light courts on either side. Attached to the gymnasium on the first floor are toilet rooms, storage rooms, and rooms for the nurse and physical instructors. On the outside of the large square corridor on the first floor are offices and recitation rooms, and the rooms for the manual training department. On the north side of the gymnasium in the basement are a large number of toilet and locker rooms. In the northwest corner of the basement is the pump room. There are also wood working and finishing rooms in the basement.
The center space on the second floor will be occupied by the large auditorium, 73×46, with a heavy gallery with dimensions of 46×20, the height of which makes it necessary to extend the auditorium roof considerably above the roof of the second story. On each side of the auditorium are the light courts which furnish light for the gymnasium below. The main stairs to the first floor are on each side of the auditorium running down to the corridor below. The corridor on the second floor is similar in shape to the lower one, running entirely around the building. Bounding the corridor on the outside are recitation rooms, study rooms, and the laboratories of the chemistry department.
The interior of the building is finished in the finest birch and maple. The walls are plastered with a sand finish. The floors are made with a patent and sound-proof construction. The ventilating system is the modern yet developed and is connected to the heating system so that the fresh air is warmed before being introduced into the rooms, thus insuring an evenly heated and perfectly ventilated room.
The plumbing work in the building was done by the Brookings Construction company of which E.J. Ray is manager. Experts who have examined their work in the new structure announce it as some of the finest plumbing that they have seen in the state of South Dakota.
Thaden is a member of the Brookings Historic Preservation Commission.
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