Olympia Selects Design for New High School
The school board settles on a design by architect B.F.M. Weeks, sparking a debate over whether to build in brick or Tenino stone.
The board of school directors yesterday adopted plans for a high school building. The selection narrowed down to the plans of J. W. White, Whitham Page and the 'A' and 'C' plans of B. F. M. Weeks. Mr. Weeks' 'C' plan was the larger building, and while there were doubts about keeping it under the $25,000 limit, the floor arrangement was superior. If the hall room is made smaller to allow for brick partitions, Mr. Weeks guaranteed the building could be put up for the limit. The first floor includes recitation rooms and offices for the superintendent and school board. The second floor features a library, chemical laboratory, and an assembly room. The basement will house heating apparatus and a manual training room. The material to be used, whether brick or stone, is yet to be determined, though Tenino residents are anxious to have their local rock used in the city's construction.
“The Tenino people, however, are anxious to have their rock put in a building in this city and if they can be given an opportunity to put in figures, it is probable a stone building can be erected at a comparatively low cost.”
The debate over using local Tenino sandstone for civic buildings is a classic piece of Olympia history; that stone eventually became a hallmark of the region's architecture, including the State Capitol. Today, the city continues to grapple with the costs and materials of its public infrastructure, mirroring the 1892 board's struggle to balance architectural ambition with a strict $25,000 budget.
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