Boise High School
Boise High School is a public secondary school in Boise, Idaho, one of five
traditional high schools within the city limits, four of which are in the Boise School District. A three-year comprehensive high school, Boise High is located on the outlying edge of the city's downtown business core. The enrollment for the 2014–15 school year was approximately 1,538.
The Boise High boundary includes all of Hidden Springs, downtown Boise, the North End, northeast end, and portions of Garden City.
History
1882 to 1930
Before Boise High School, the Treasure Valley was serviced by Central High School. Opened in 1882, it cost $44,000 instead of the originally estimated sum of $25,000. Because of the cost and the fact that it was considered an overly large structure, the Central High School Board was criticized. Ironically, only a decade later 700 children overcrowded the school. Central High School was the only high school in the Idaho Territory. The high school students were placed in the top floor, while the primary, intermediate, and grammar pupils studied in the basement and the next two floors. The first graduating class of 1884 was composed of two students – Tom G. Hailey and Henry Johnson. The next year two female students and two male students graduated. In 1900, the number had expanded to 23 graduates.The new high school which replaced Central School was dubbed "Boise High School." It was not the well-known white brick building present today. It was a traditional red brick, typical of the time period. The cornerstone was laid in 1902. A pageant with 1,200 students, as many adults, and three volleys from the cadet corps marked the joyous ceremony. Mayor Moses Alexander stated Boise High School was "where the rich and the poor meet on terms of equality".
The Red Brick building, however, was terribly constructed. It was not built by local architects. Instead, the school was built by a contractor from Kansas, William F. Schrage. Idaho architects Tourtellotte & Hummel, along with Idaho architects Campbell & Wayland challenged Schrage and tried to raise a committee to prevent his plans. However, the committee approved Schrage's blueprints for the school. Anthony Miranda, author of the Boise High School Archive Project, states that C.B. Little, later the Superintendent of Buildings and grounds, complained, "...the class rooms were not properly lighted..." and "...they used acme plaster for the basement floors instead of Portland cement. The basement floor went to pieces". Miranda also records that a survey of schools taken in 1919 remarked about Boise High School's ventilation: "At the high school one of the intakes is located in a hidden nook just above the level of the ground on the flat roof of the furnace room, a space which serves as a general catch-all for blowing dirt, trash, etc.".
Not only was the building poorly constructed, but it soon became too small. The number of high school students expanded from 200 to 300 pupils within only 5 years after its construction. Tourtellotte and Hummel were chosen to build a new structure. Their grandiose blueprints included a capacity of 1,200 students. Even though red brick was popular for schools during the time period, Tourtellotte and Hummel decided to use white brick instead. Superintendent Meek, a progressive, and the School Board, also progressive, in 1908 stated their belief "in making the system and building so pleasing and inviting that children will desire to go to school and enter into their work and study with enthusiasm and delight".
The Boise High building that stands today was constructed in three phases. The east wing was constructed in 1908. It housed classes for male students. The Idaho Statesman reported: "In one wing was to be located the manual training, agriculture and work of that character which is generally taken up by boys and in the opposite wing was to be located the domestic science and those portions of manual training that usually are taken up by girls. In addition to the above there are the regular study rooms and class rooms, laboratories, etc., connected the same". The curriculum between 1904 and 1908, saw the addition of manual training for boys, and sewing, music and cooking for girls. The domestic science courses at the high school can be credited to Marguerite Nolan, wife of former Boise Mayor Herbert Lemp. During the years 1908–1915, the manual arts and home economics programs grew while stenography and typewriting programs were added. Another amenity offered was the first free night school for students who dropped out of high school. In the basement below the newly constructed wing was an underground gymnasium, where students played various sports such as basketball and even baseball. One of its purposes was to keep boys in school. The School Board believed that if boys were able to play sports, they were more likely to attend class. Despite the emphasis on boys' access to physical activity, Boise High's first girls basketball team, consisting of 7 members, was formed in 1907, even before the construction of the gymnasium.
The first Idaho radio station was broadcast from the east wing's basement. Extra power was wired, a tower was added on the roof, and W7YA trained broadcasters. KFAU, the new set of call letters assigned to the station in 1923, was housed in the physics department in the basement. The station was changed to KIDO Radio in 1928 when Boise High sold it to investors.
The east wing also has a long history of ROTC Cadets. Englishman J.W. Daniels, the first district superintendent, ran Boise schools with military discipline. "Not only did students often find themselves drilling daily, but on Saturdays, the teachers were also put through a similar course of instruction". Under J.W. Daniels, Central School's military training began in 1900. Because the high school Cadets were denied federal funding for ROTC, they purchased their own uniforms and some equipment and convinced the NCO at the local barracks to train them. When the Red Brick Building was constructed, the Cadets had expanded from around 30–40 to 70 students. They disbanded during World War I, but in 1918 Boise High ROTC reorganized. In 1919, when Congress included funding for high school ROTC, the Boise High School Cadet Corps was officially established with a total of 60 boys under Lt. Col. John E. Wall. Cadets practiced with mere 22 caliber rifles. They used the east wing basement until the 1970s. To this day there are bullet holes in the basement because of the rifle range. These rooms were actually still used as classrooms and the Boise High School library until the 1990s tech building was constructed.
The west wing was added in 1912. With a domestic science division and a spacious cafeteria, this section was designed for Boise High School girls. Most schools at that time did not offer lunch. However, Boise High School served low cost lunches as a way to keep pupils in school. Food used in domestic science classes was served for lunch, which offset the costs of supplying food for cooking instruction.
Well-planned ventilation and heating systems were installed so students could concentrate better. Large boilers heated the huge school. They produced dangerous high-pressure steam, so the heating plant was placed in a reinforced basement chamber between the Red Brick Building and the west wing, so it was separate from other structures. The smoke was said to be "entirely and absolutely consumed by the fire, which is a wise precaution...as the building now being constructed is in the residential section of the city and hence will not now become a nuisance to adjoining property owners", since the boilers were supplied by blower equipped hoppers which fed the fuel to the fire.
The Red Brick building was quickly degenerating. The School Board wanted to demolish it and replace it with a new central wing, but when space became scarce by the late 1910s, they decided to postpone the plan. Modern technology dictated more and different spaces for boys' classes. Rather than learn how to blacksmith, boys needed to learn how to fix automobiles. Printing, woodworking, and construction now used different techniques which required larger classrooms.
The School Board agreed to build a separate building across 10th Street from the east wing. They initially called it the Manual Arts Building, but it opened in 1919 as the Industrial Arts Building, or the I.A. An Idaho Statesman article from 1921 boasted, "When finished, Boise will have one of the largest as well as the most completely equipped secondary schools in the northwest. Already the Industrial Arts building has made possible the addition of many vocational courses, ranging from printing to costume design, not usually found in the average high school". For nearly half a century, most of the district's printing was completed at the Industrial Arts Building. The school's monthly magazine, The Boise High Courier, was published in 1900, and later became the school's yearbook. The school newspaper The Pepperbox was also a Boise High School publication during the early 20th century. Today, the Boise High School Newspaper is called Boise Highlights.
The Red Brick building was demolished during the summer of 1921. Small parts of the red brick were left, to be handled later during remodeling. The central wing replaced the dilapidated structure. According to Dean M. Worbois, author of Temple of Liberty: Boise High School Defines a Frontier Town, "The central wing of the new white brick building completed the architect's concept of a grand, classical environment dedicated to learning. A massive stairway invites entry...A bust of Plato is surrounded, in Greek, with his Civic Virtues: Wisdom, Courage, Justice and Moderation."
The auditorium was constructed to seat 1,800 students. Because it was so distant from the stage, the third balcony was dubbed "the nose bleed section," and was relegated to the sophomores. Juniors used the first and second balconies, while seniors called the main floor. The auditorium was not just for school functions, but was an asset to the community as well. It has been used by local orchestras, Boise's Music Week, and traveling stars, until the construction of Boise State University's Morrison Center in 1984. The auditorium has been named the "Boise Opera House." It has even showcased well-known musicians Duke Ellington and Bing Crosby.
Image:Tumblers.jpg|200px|left|thumb|"Tumblers" from 1933 edition
of ''The Courier''