Benson Polytechnic High School Pre-construction

After 104 years of history, Benson Polytechnic High School moved out of its longtime home in inner Northeast Portland this summer. Here are a few final views of the now-vacant campus before the three-year construction process begins.

A final look at the historic entry plaza that will become a construction staging area, then a new ADA accessible entry.
The empty basement cafeteria will be converted to back of house and mechanical spaces.
Historic light fixture in the theater lobby.
The auditorium’s theater wall will soon be surgically removed and reinforced to modern seismic standards.
View out to NE Irving St. from the upper level auditorium lobby.
Vacant auditorium from the stage.
Looking across the stage to the old rigging gallery that has flanked performers for 91 years.
The sea of original wood seats in the auditorium await demolition.
A view across the soon-to-be-replaced auditorium vestibule, looking into the 1916 main building.
The gym entry looking back toward the main building.
The gym corridor is stripped of the various athletics history, which was salvaged for reinstallation.
A view to the historic main building through the historic gym.
Mural outside the gym classrooms.
A 1960s locker room in the basement of the original gym.
The dark main gym will soon be upgraded with large skylights.
Portions of the main gym floor are marked off for salvage.
A corridor from the main building across the 1953 library building and 1991 music room addition to the south shops. While all but the first of these buildings will be demolished, a new corridor will fill this same space.
A final look at the narrow light court created with the 1953 construction of the library and science building. The new social courtyard will fill most of that building’s space.
This final largely-intact section of the original rear courtyard corridors will be demolished to accommodate the new commons.
The foundry building courtyard will be opened up for construction of a new interior connection back to the rest of the campus.
The vacant foundry following move-out.
Classrooms on the 2nd floor of the foundry building, where the original two-story foundry’s gantry crane supports remain visible.

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