[ back ]
Artifacts will be saved during U. City schools’ demolition
(by Matt Blickenstaff - July 08, 2009)
In April, University City residents voted on Proposition U, a controversial measure to improve the district’s schools at the expense of some of the neighborhood’s history.
The measure entailed $56.3 million of new construction and renovation for University City schools and included the demolition of two historic schoolhouses, Barbara C. Jordan Elementary and Pershing Elementary. Proposition U passed with over 64.2 percent of the vote, well over the 57.14 percent needed.
Before the vote, the debate played out in district meeting rooms and newspaper editorial pages with district officials arguing for the new facilities and local historical organizations calling for preservation.
Now, people on both sides of the issue are coming together to move forward with construction while keeping a fixed eye on the neighborhood’s proud and expansive history.
“We have agreed to extract certain parts of those buildings, certain artifacts, and we’re going to try to incorporate them into the new buildings,” said Karl Scheidt, the operations manager for the district’s construction efforts.
Several mosaics, tile murals and building cornerstones are being removed from Barbara C. Jordan for installation into the new school.
Barbara C. Jordan Elementary is slated for demolition in late August or early September. During the school’s demolition and rebuilding, students will be moved to the McNair Administration building for classes. Once the new Barbara C. Jordan is completed around January 2011, Pershing Elementary’s students will use the McNair building.
Pershing Elementary, erected in 1919, was designed by William B. Ittner, a renowned St. Louis architect. Barbara C. Jordan, built in 1951, was designed by William B. Ittner Inc., a company founded by Ittner.
“He elevated school design to a new level, opening up the floor plans, and incorporating more windows,” said Lindsay Derrington, a research associate at the Landmarks Association of St. Louis.
Ittner also designed many other area schools and the Continental Building that towers over Grand Center.
After Barbara C. Jordan is demolished and replaced with new facilities, Pershing Elementary is scheduled to face the wrecking ball. The new Pershing Elementary is scheduled for completion in August of 2013.
“As we’re approaching the new Pershing, we’re going to design it to have the same façade, the same brickwork and the same feel,” said Scheidt. “The building will still feel like it belongs in the neighborhood.”
It is not yet clear whether the new building will incorporate materials from the old school or simply emulate its look.
Pershing Elementary contains several other artifacts beyond the brick and mortar, including an art deco nurse’s cabinet and an engraved silver trowel used by Gen. Pershing to install the cornerstone at the school’s dedication.
Jen Jensen, the woman responsible for cataloging the district’s art and historical treasures, is a former library aid at Jackson Park Elementary, longtime University City resident and member of the University City Historical Society.
“My kids went up through the schools, and I’ve worked in the schools so I got very upset with the school district when I heard their plan,” Jensen said.
For years, Jensen volunteered to search through the schools and log every bit of material with cultural or historical significance, often at her own expense.
“I didn’t want things to get lost,” Jensen said. “I am going to work with the district to save the things that we can.”
Jensen’s thorough inventory and her work with Scheidt have ensured Barbara C. Jordan’s and Pershing’s artifacts will be preserved, but some feel these steps amount to little more than window dressing.
“It’s good to preserve those elements because they’re beautiful, but I think it’s very superficial,” Derrington said. “They’ll tear down the entire building and build a new one, but they’ll include little remnants here or there.”
Derrington was an outspoken critic of University City’s plan both during its inception and before the April vote. Among other concerns, she said renovating was nearly as cost-effective as destroying and rebuilding the two schools. Art Bond, the principal architect at Bond Wolfe, said disruptive operational issues also presented a need to rebuild. Bond Wolfe served as the district’s architectural consultant during construction planning.
“It really was not just a matter of cost,” Bond said. “The schools had internal classrooms that had no windows, and they had classrooms that needed to be accessed through other classrooms in order to get to them.”
Even as construction moves forward, some wonder if demolishing the two buildings is the best course of action.
“In the back of my mind I’m holding out hope that they’ll keep the old part of Pershing,” Jensen said.
[ back ]
