Planning for a modernized Benson Polytechnic High School began near its one-hundredth anniversary. Eight years later, following three years of construction, the new campus opened in August 2024. With a blend of historic landmark buildings and new state-of-the-art career-technical education (CTE) facilities, the school is ready to welcome another century of students.
This post takes a virtual tour through the new school, primarily in images taken during the grand opening celebration on September 14. We’ll also look back at a few views from the construction process. For a comprehensive sense of the “before”, see my post on the campus history and existing conditions.
Exteriors
The Benson Tech campus has long held a prominent presence along the surrounding streets. The new design maintains 100% of the remaining original street-facing facades. In fact, only the 1991 media center, along NE Irving St., has been entirely replaced. The mirror south-facing structure, the 1964 gymnasium, remains with a new energy-efficient over-cladding assembly that visually matches the new buildings on campus.
Walking around the site, the historic buildings anchor three corners and surround the west entry courtyard. The long, single-story facades of the original north and south shop wings have been restored. In between and above, new construction alternates with these original pieces. New materials and articulation draw directly from the historic conditions. Darker brick is laid in the same running bond and white-trimmed windows are in matching proportions. Only wrapping into interior facades do these new additions evolve to take on a life of their own.
A broader porch at the level 1 elevation enables gathering outside the main entry, where the berm previously restricted usable space.Gently sloped lawns fill the spaces between the pathways, recalling the open design of the historic entry courtyard.Shrub and tree plantings now frame the central pathways and lawns, adding softness and depth to the entry sequence.At ground level, the courtyard retains its simple historic expression, receding from the surrounding architecture.Subtle depressions in the entry courtyard paving come alive in the rain as water conveyance gutters, a visual expression of civil engineering design.Steps line the south end of the entry courtyard for direct access to the gym entries. A glazed enclosure finally links the upper level of the gym directly to the interior of the main building.The west façade of the 1925 gym building features new windows in restored original openings at the lower level classrooms.Gently sloping ramps replaced the narrow stair from the south walkway to NE 12th Ave.The south walkway will reopen to public access along the former NE Glisan St. right of way, now with fully accessible ramps.Trees and smaller shrubs will offer more variety than the previous large shrubs along the perimeter of the site.The restored auxiliary gym south façade includes consistently infilled basement window openings and new egress stairs.Cast stone veneer reminiscent of the historic terra cotta now clearly defines the transitions between historic and contemporary facades around the campus.The radio tower has been structurally retrofitted and painted white, with confirmation that it is just under the height that would require the previous, FAA-mandated striped color scheme.The 1964 main gymnasium has long been despised for its incongruous setting against the historic campus buildings. However, its useful location and size warranted inclusion in the modernized campus. A new brick finish matches the new buildings on campus and integrates extensive structural and thermal improvements.The main gym seismic upgrade used a creative approach to strengthen the existing solid concrete walls instead of replacing them. Vertical steel strongbacks provide out-of-plane support halfway between each original column. Steel angles stitch the tilt-up panels together along the height of each column to create the behavior of a monolithic wall. A concrete base ties the tilt-up panels to the basement wall to complete the load path, and support the brick overcladding that integrates these improvements and exterior insulation into the final design. The south courtyard between the main gym and the south shop wing and radio tower now features a direct connection from the central commons to Buckman Park, as well as the gym and restrooms accessible from the exterior. Solar panels float above the restored south shop wing façade, continuing beyond the radio tower screen that will soon feature a painted identity sign facing Buckman Park.A new ramp and stairs link Buckman Park with the Benson Tech campus in a collaboration between PPS and PP&R.The south shop wing’s facade has been dramatically restored with the removal of 1960 window infills and reinstallation of windows in the original proportions.Two arched opening bays remained intact but had been filled with brick inside the arch. Arched “fan” windows from the courtyard were reworked to replicate the historic transoms in these bays with new fixed doors. Two similar arched bays once existed on the mirrored NE Irving St. façade, but were rectangularized in its 1958 renovation and remain in that configuration. Can you find them?The restored south wing façade maintains an alternating blend of new and historic buildings along the long campus perimeter.The original walls of the north and south shop wings are all that remain of the original buildings. However, much of the original building interiors, including their structure, had already been replaced during previous renovations.The steel frames of the new CTE & classroom buildings highlight the changes in construction technology since the original shop buildings were constructed of unreinforced masonry bearing walls in the early 20th centrury.The south two-story classroom & CTE building steps back from the historic façade, with its cascading solar brise soleil and a green roof that we’ll see later.Car parking has been consolidated into two small lots, buffering the CTE courtyard from NE 15th Ave. The single-story, fan-lite-lined mass that remains along the south of the foundry building reminds us of the condition what once lined the entire eastern courtyard, breaking to facilitate large roll-up doors and outdoor workspace at the new buildings beyond.
We’ll walk around the CTE courtyard later, but here’s a preview of the solar canopy and the transition between the foundry and the north building:
This video from PPS offers a good overview of the roofs and courtyards from above.The foundry building anchors the northeast corner of the campus with an original two-story mass, which continues with the setback new façade behind the original one-story shops to the west.Mature trees have been retained along NE Irving St, maintaining a consistent feel to this face of the campus.The new building steps back between the foundry building and the remnant north shop wing façade to create a small courtyard for the art program kiln. The second story of the north classroom building is set back from the re-connected single-story façade, with matching articulation patterns for consistency.Mid construction, the rear of the auditorium and main buildings were exposed to NE Irving St. after demolition of the 1991 Media Center, the 1953 Library & Science wing, and the original 1916 Boiler House, with its connection between the main building and north shop wing.The new media center inserts a dark-brick-framed glassy link between the historic 1916 north shop and 1929 auditorium buildings. The expression is more distinctively contemporary, and more unified, than the previous 1991 media center.The 1991 media center building is memorialized with the retention of a single bay of its brick façade. This bay is actually part of the 1929 auditorium building, and had been re-clad to match an adjacent flush wall. The new media center is slightly set back and uses terra cotta-inspired cast stone cladding to create a clear delineation from historic to new construction.White paint brings the stair railings and doors along the north side of the auditorium into better compatibility with the historic façade. Detail view of the restored auditorium building façade with its large multi-lite steel windows.Ramps and steps along the north edge of the entry courtyard connect with diagonal ramps at the theater entry and the health clinic entry. They do not continue across the central planting area, as on the gym side. This area was initially designed to slope down to maintain the basement (former cafeteria) windows with taller retaining walls.The link between the main building and the auditorium remains with new doors and transoms, additional paving, and the insertion of a seismic joint at left.A simple door and relite with salvaged brick trim are inserted into the blank north wall of the 1916 administration building to create an entry to the new healthcare clinic.The main courtyard has been significantly regraded with new diagonal circulation pathways for universal accessibility.The main courtyard retains its historic setting lined in neoclassical brick buildings.Hundreds gather along the main entry walkways for the grand opening ceremony.The Benson Tech community streams up the entry steps into the building for the grand opening.
Auditorium
Moving inside, we find a similar blend of refurbished historic and contemporary new spaces.
Entering the auditorium from the second floor of the main building, the familiar form of the U-shaped balcony meets a refreshed color palette and restored finishes.A single row of the historic wood seats remains at the side balconies, with the rest of the balcony featuring new wood seats.The rear balcony has been substantially reconfigured with four ADA + companion seating positions, a new lighting booth, and (spot) lighting galleries on either side. Most of the remaining space is taken up by massive shafts between the basement and the attic to heat and (for the first time) cool the auditorium via the original ceiling grilles.The auditorium seismic upgrade is entirely hidden from the historic space with one exception: a vertical steel plate along the inside face of the balcony rail that reads as a raised baseboard.Two retractable trusses support theatrical lighting from the historic ceiling, and can be lowered to the floor for easy access without catwalks.The restored original multi-light steel windows are bordered by bright blue tableau curtains that ensure easy operability for patrons to enjoy the windows during non-theatrical events.The reconfigured auditorium house now contains about 1,000 seats, with better views from each new seat than were afforded from the rearmost sections that have been removed.The auditorium retains its highly symmetrical form in the modernized layout.Much of the auditorium building interiors were constructed of seismically fragile hollow clay tile. This mid-construction view shows the surgical efforts to preserve the historic proscenium, which was ultimately braced back to new framing.The egress stair north of the stage has been replaced, with concrete shear walls lining three edges for the seismic upgrade. The two original windows remain with otherwise contemporary finishes.The lower level of the egress stair continues the new finishes along with views of the shear walls on three sides. On the right, we pass an original board-formed concrete beam that continues to support the north edge of the stage.The back wall of the stage offers another peek at the seismic upgrade, with three wide-flange steel columns floating above the stage access doors. These columns brace the original unreinforced wall, hanging from the fly loft roof and braced down to the east low roof storage area behind the stage.The stage has been raised about a foot above its previous position to align with the rest of the campus level 1 datum, subtly realigning the performer’s perspective of the auditorium house.Symmetrical ramps line the edges of the stage. In addition to providing accessible access between the stage, house, and adjacent main corridor, they span over a new mechanical plenum with return air grilles along the base.The side aisle between the balcony columns and the exterior now ramps up from the cross aisle to the stage. The exterior walls retain their original plaster on concrete construction. The 1930 auditorium is the only historic campus building of reinforced concrete construction instead of unreinforced masonry, allowing some of the original walls to remain unbraced in the seismic upgrade scheme.The new, historically sensitive color scheme in the auditorium is a welcome change following three decades of yellow and burnt orange. New seats in the rear section feature upholstery and wider spacing for audience comfort. The plaster ceiling has been reconstructed to its original form.Selective ceiling demolition for construction access revealed the monumental riveted 1929 steel trusses that support the auditorium balcony.
Theater Lobbies
The auditorium lobby retains most of its notable historic features, with new brass railings joining the historic terrazzo floors, stained wood paneling (except for the now-painted doors and transom windows), and plaster walls.The theater entry wall was salvaged and reconstructed to allow removal of seismically vulnerable hollow clay tile. The reinstalled Simon Benson plaque reads: “As the giant trees of the forest / in which he worked / were a blessing to man / So has he been a benefactor / to the young men of / Benson Polytechnic School.”The restored north auditorium lobby stairwell now provides access to the large basement restrooms.A large all-user restroom below the lobby serves the theater with accessible access and supplementing the smaller restrooms upstairs. The exposed steel jamb columns hint that this opening punched through an unreinforced concrete wall into what was a mechanical room. The new mechanical room is across the hall in the former cafeteria.What happened to the old cafeteria under the theater? It now houses a colossal mechanical room, along with some back-of-house performing arts support spaces.An elevator has been inserted into the northern lobby stairway to provide direct accessible access from a new courtyard entry, to the balcony, and to the new basement restrooms. Portions of the historic stair remain around the perimeter of this insertion.This space off the upper auditorium lobby once served as the band room and the original home of the KBPS radio broadcasts. It will now house an alumni room with proximity to events in the auditorium.The north stairwell remains open and in its previous design except for a structural brace across the center of the window, new lighting, and the painting of the window and trim.The back of the elevator shaft includes a small niche at level 1.5, over the level 0.5 exterior accessible entry, set into the historic south stairwell.
Band Room & Performing Arts Support
At the base of the stairs leading to the multipurpose and band rooms, the orginal 1930 concrete basement wall is exposed with two new steel strongbacks. Together, they support a round door salvaged from one of the three original 1916 boilers.A familiar experience for performing arts students, the band room is hidden at the end of a series of corridors and doors leading to a large space below the media center. A tangled web of building systems, now painted but still exposed to view, crosses over the band room corridor into a mechanical room. The multipurpose room / black box theater had been envisioned for this location adjacent to the band room, but was relocated due to budget constraints.The large band room leverages the long span structure of the media center above and includes clerestory windows facing NE Irving St. Despite the limited connectivity to the rest of the school, this location features direct access to the stage via a dedicated back-of-house stair.The multipurpose room / black box theater is located directly below the stage, accepting a few constraints from the existing structure. It includes a specialty performing arts floor and ceiling pipe grid to accommodate a variety of performing arts activities. The historic gridiron remains (with some of the student graffiti), but includes all-new rigging systems for limited sets. There is space for expansion to a more complete system when funding allows.
New Academic/CTE Buildings and Courtyard
While typical corridors in the new buildings remain internal, they feature exposed systems for tall ceilings, bright lighting, pops of color at each set of classroom entries, and large relites looking into the CTE shops.
Typical paired classroom entries in the new buildings feature bold accent colors and exposed structure.
An exposed column here features large tension rods anchoring a buckling-restrained braced frame to its foundation, for a technical learning opportunity.
Typical paired classroom entries recessed from the corridor with the south wing accent color. Maple veneer paneling denotes CTE shop entries. The engineering program is seen here.Exposed buckling-restrained braces can be found throughout the new buildings, functioning as the lateral force-resisting system for wind and seismic strength.This “tech bar” and benches throughout the campus were milled from old-growth timber beams salvaged from the 1916 shop building roof during demolition.This double classroom overlooking NE Irving St. features an operable partition to facilitate two standard or one large class.Equipment is moved into a science lab featuring built-in workbenches.Biology labs on the upper level of the south building look out to Buckman Park through their own brise soleil. The western end of the south setback roof is an accessible space off of the biology labs, overlooking Buckman Field and with views to Downtown Portland. A view across the south building’s rooftop solar panels past the radio tower to Downtown Portland.The south wing setback from the historic shop façade features a planted green roof and the photovoltaic brise soileil shading the upper classroom windows.
CTE Shop & Lab Suites
After the old shops were demolished, it was briefly possible to see clear across the campus between the remnants of the original shop wing facades. The north shop building was first to be reconstructed, with a structural steel frame creating large spaces for future flexibility as programs evolve. Workbenches and equipment begin to fill the large construction shop.One of the manufacturing shops now features direct access to outdoor workspace.Welding stations in a new manufacturing shop with dedicated exhaust hoods.Interior of the automotive shops, with vehicle lifts and roll-up doors in each bay.Computer lab in the digital media CTE space, overlooking the central courtyard.A mixed lap with computers and workbenches in the digital media CTE space.An internal digital media lab features an intimate, focused layout with soft natural lighting from an overhead skylight.The 2D applied art lab in the north classroom & CTE building.Skylights offer soft lighting to the 3D applied arts lab in the north building.
CTE Courtyard & Outdoor Workspace
The automotive program now features a continuous frontage along the south edge of the CTE courtyard, with roll-up doors and covered outdoor workspace in every bay.Translucent solar photovoltaic panels offer weather protection to the bike parking and outdoor classroom spaces at the east end of the CTE courtyard.Covered bike parking in the CTE courtyard.The south façade of the new north CTE & classroom building features a cascading brise soliel of solar photovoltaic panels, along with large canopies to form covered outdoor workspace.The brise soleil maintains views out to the courtyard and shades south-facing windows from intense summer sun, while capturing solar heat from lower winter sun. The central commons building was last to be erected, celebrated here with the “topping out” steel beam prepared for placement along the roof of the eastern edge facing the CTE courtyard. The east façade of the commons building features banners highlighting the variety of CTE programs. Canopies here cover the loading dock and trash bins, a reminder that the CTE courtyard is a highly functional, working space.View across the automotive program canopies to the north building, where the Construction, Math Tech, and Manufacturing shops each have dedicated outdoor workspace. View across the CTE courtyard and bike parking canopy to the new north building and the historic foundry building.
The Foundry Building
While most CTE programs and classrooms are in the new north and south buildings, the electrical program and foundry-adjacent manufacturing shops enjoy the historic foundry building at the northeast corner of the campus.
The foundry building interlocks with the edge of the north CTE & classroom building to reuse the historic pediment bay as an entry.The foundry building was freed of its various additions early in 2022, becoming an entirely freestanding structure for the first time. Most of this west façade remained intact and ready to be exposed to the interior of the new north building.The north CTE & classroom building extends to the west façade of the foundry building, exposing the original brick and windows as an interior corridor wall at each level.Restored interior windows offer views into the manufacturing shop south of the foundry.The ground floor of the foundry building remains dedicated to the manufacturing CTE program, with open ceilings offering more height than the previous conditions.The interior of the historic passageway bay remains an awkward functional extension of the adjacent shop, but includes glimpses of the exposed brick and fan lite windows from the campus’ original circulation pattern.The large windows of the historic foundry building restore a pattern that was previously found in only a few of the shop spaces. View of the kiln courtyard from the foundry.Entry to electrical shops in the foundry building from the north building.The upper level of the foundry building is now dedicated to the electrical CTE program. In this shop, wood stud walls allow training in residential wiring.The foundry building retains all of its original window openings by hiding its seismic upgrade in plain sight. Where the perimeter walls were once painted brick, they are now painted concrete. Continuous pier-and-spandrel concrete shear walls line the perimeter of the building framing each window. Steel strongbacks at the center of each window pair and steel connections to the floor and roof diaphragms complete the system.As the perimeter shear walls went up in the foundry building, insulation was sandwiched between the concrete and the original brick to improve the thermal envelope. Interior bearing structure was also removed and replaced with steel to improve shop layout flexibility.Ceilings have been removed throughout the foundry building to expose the (painted) wood structure and MEP systems to the new shop spaces.Concrete shear wall piers between the historic foundry building windows support fume extraction arms for soldering. The narrow bays of the former foundry mezzanine gallery are perfectly sized for these four-seat electrical shop workbenches.Upper level of the original foundry space following interior demolition, with the original roof monitor and gantry crane beams exposed for the first time since 1977.The large sophomore electrical shop fills the upper level of the original foundry volume, which was infilled for classroom space in the 1977 renovation.
Commons: The Heart of the School
The central commons is a large gathering space at the heart of the school, perhaps the most transformative part of the modernization project.
The 1916 master plan placed the boiler house at the center of the campus. A series of small additions continued in this zone over the next century, with the most recent renovation adding a healthcare clinic in this area as master planning for the modernization was just getting started. The 1953 Library & Science building made the most significant impact, transforming the rear of the original 1916 administration building into a narrow light court. All of these additions were razed to make way for a new social courtyard and central commons at the heart of the school. This timelapse video from PPS captures the scale of work here:
A mid-construction view across the future social courtyard to the distant foundry building, as the new north wing began to go up.An opposite view across the social courtyard just prior to the central commons construction, with seismic improvements to the main gym and administration buildings nearing completion.From the moment the central commons structure went up, its welcoming presence at the heart of the school was apparent.Where this corridor from the main building once led to the dark, low 1953 library & science building hallways, it now opens up to a bright and generous space on the way to the central commons. The single-loaded corridor to the commons recalls the original circulation patterns with salvaged fan lite windows and a graphic timeline recalling Benson Polytechnic School through the decades.The single-loaded corridor to the commons floats with cantilevered structural framing along the edge of the main gym. The wall at right is the single remnant of the 1953 Library & Science building. A decade after its construction this façade was covered and used to support the roof of the 1964 gym. Additional strengthening allows its continued use for this purpose, with a new structural separation to the new building to the north.The timeline graphics span two levels, ending with the 2020s celebration of the modernization project, complete with photos of the constriction process.The commons includes a smaller demonstration kitchen that can be used for teaching, around the corner from the main kitchen and servery.A salvaged drone aircraft from the former aviation program floats over the central commons, which is located near the former footprint of the 1953 Aviation & Aeronautics building.The central commons includes a large glass curtain wall overlooking the social courtyard and the restored east façade of the 1916 main building. A projecting blue mass in the central commons houses the student store at the ground floor and the robotics lab at the upper level. The commons balcony includes a glazed wall overlooking the south courtyard out to Buckman Field.
Learning Stairs, Flex, and Media Center
The main learning stair in the central commons features the salvaged main gym floor with the center court logo.A smaller learning stair rises at the east end of the south building, at its transition to the 1991 radio building.The learning stairs are predominantly concrete with accents in stainless steel and maple matching the salvaged gym floors.Seating risers in the south building learning stair also feature sections of salvaged gym floor.The smaller double-height space in the south building aligns with its connection across the CTE courtyard to the foundry building.Exposed structure with limited MEP systems provides a tall flex space at the west end of the south building’s upper level. A graphical map of Portland screens the glazed entry to the new media center. This had been done with glass block in the previous, postmodern media center building.The new media center is arranged around a large open space with views out to NE Irving St.
Social Courtyard
View across the social courtyard to the restored 1916 main building’s rear façade, which had been severely compromised during construction of the adjacent 1953 library & science building. View out to the social courtyard from the commons seating.View across the social courtyard from a flex alcove.Social courtyard and central commons, with a large translucent photovoltaic canopy providing covered outdoor space.View out to the social courtyard from the north stair.The dental lab overlooks the social courtyard from the second floor.View of the social courtyard from the health sciences wing.
Gymnasiums
View south across the auxiliary gym to the Portland Tennis Center.The auxiliary gym (formerly “old” gym) retains its original form and character, with new finishes including a new maple floor.Five large mechanical ducts are threaded into the roof trusses between the skylights to bring modern heating, cooling, and ventilation into the space.Unlike the auditorium, the historic gym is of unreinforced masonry construction and required seismic bracing along the perimeter walls. New steel columns along each window jamb are painted white and blend in with the exposed original roof trusses.View across the auxiliary gym from the running track entry.View across the auxiliary gym to the 1916 administraion building.New railings line the perimeter of the track, which was overlaid with a concrete slab and new running surface as part of the seismic retrofit. The banked corners didn’t make it back, but a mix of new and salvaged gym floor wainscoting recall the original finishes.View of the historic main entry through a restored multi-lite arched steel window along the running track.The historic stair west of the gym remains with its view out to the main entry courtyard.A new stair opposite the historic stair brings the west end of the gym building into compliance with current code. It features and exposed concrete shear wall and other elements of the seismic upgrade, similar to the opposite back of house stair in the auditorium building.The main gym retains the original roof trusses and girders, with new acoustical metal deck, MEP systems, and a significantly enlarged mechanical penthouse.Large skylights, acoustical roof decking, and white paint with bold accents dramatically transform the 1964 gym.The new enclosure connecting the upper levels of the main administration and gymnasium buildings features a large glass wall recalling what was previously an open air view.
Historic Interiors
The main historic corridor has been restored to its previous appearance, with the addition of two exposed concrete shear walls for the seismic retrofit. The fact that the floor is all new structure, and had been excavated down significantly during construction, is not apparent until reviewing construction photos.Across from the historic entry lobby, a large community room looks out to the social courtyard and central commons.Early in the construction process, the main building was stripped of finishes as the 1953 Library & Science building was prepared for demolition. This space has come a long way in the span of three years.The community room features wood trim reflective of the original trim that had been installed throughout the building (limited to this space for cost). This wall was modified with aluminum windows in 1953, and required structural strongbacking with the seismic upgrade. The final finish simplifies these realities by suggesting a historically realistic design.Large windows in the northern historic stair remain open and are closer to their original appearance than the previous 1953 windows. The southern stair’s windows have been closed due to the adjacent new classroom expansion.Historic display cases have been reinstalled in the 1916 building’s corridors, arranged on the exposed concrete shear walls.Skylights in the upper main historic corridor are now open to view, with open frames at the laylight/ceiling plane.A single glued/laminated (glulam) beam is exposed at each level of the 1916 building corridors, where an original bearing wall was removed to allow access to the new media center and healthcare CTE corridors. The only other similar beams on the campus are in the foundry building and have been painted. Future PPS schools, however, will be constructed of mass timber and feature this type of exposed structure in abundance.The link between the main building and the auditorium has been entirely reconstructed except for this west exterior wall.For the first time since 1930, the north façade of the 1916 main building is exposed to view. Concrete strips recall structure inserted with the construction of the 1930 auditorium building that covered this wall in plaster. The connecting structure was removed and replaced with steel framing to accommodate a new seismic joint.Restored original stairs in the gymnasium building feature gracefully curved guardrails with wood caps, which differ somewhat from the shape found in the auditorium building.A single large classroom now fills the upper level west of the gym, with views to Downtown Portland.The first floor corridor includes exposed ceiling details where steel struts tie the second floor into the concrete shear walls. The upper level does not repeat the detail, as the roof is attached to the shear walls from above.The above-roof seismic work was extensive at the historic buildings, especially here at the 1916 administration building. White steel drag struts attach the roof to the concrete shear walls below, while galvanized steel straps cross-tie the walls together, and sloped wood framing braces the perimeter parapets. The sheathing that appears as standard plywood is actually 2″ thick mass plywood panels, carefully cut and spliced to follow the existing roof slopes.An original skylight illuminates the northern concrete shear wall and associated historic display cases in the historic corridor.The second floor historic corridor also retains its original character except for the insertion of concrete shear walls.
Upcoming PPS Modernizations
Overlooking the south building’s rooftop solar panels to the new Multiple Pathways to Graduation building on the former parking lot site along Buckman Field, also open now.
After Franklin, Roosevelt, Grant, and (perhaps debatably) McDaniel (formerly Madison), Benson Tech will be the last modernization of an historic high school for Portland Public Schools. The mid-century Lincoln High School is gone, and Marshall will likely go a similar route when it’s eventually reopened when needed for capacity given that that could be decades.
The three yet-to-be modernized high schools are all in design now thanks to funding from the 2020 school improvement bond. Construction funding will come from the next bond, likely in spring 2025. Each building is historic in its own right, but will be entirely demolished and replaced for its own reason:
Jefferson High School was built in 1909 in an elaborate arts & crafts style, but heavily altered into a modernist aesthetic in the 1950s. The current building retains limited architectural integrity with limited opportunities to restore what was lost. The modernization planned to retain and renovate the building until it was determined that doing so would require students to relocate during construction. A revised plan will construct a new building north of the original, demolishing the historic building in 2028.
Cleveland High School was built in 1929 in a similar, slightly simplified style to Benson Tech (and by the architect that designed Benson’s auditorium building in the same year). The original architecture is mostly intact, but wholesale window replacement in the 1980s compromised the apparent integrity. Heavy screening from a planted setback lessens its civic presence and identity. With strong community desire for more student outdoor space and limited support for preservation, it will be demolished as soon as 2026 when students move to the Marshall campus for construction. The new building will be taller and closer to the property lines to create large internal student courtyards.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School was built in 1956 (as Wilson High School) and remains an excellent early example of the international style. Its lift-slab structure is also noteworthy as an early instance. This school does not have good access to a temporary swing site, and is slightly too young to be perceived as historic enough to protect. The building will also be demolished by the end of the decade, once students move into its replacement.
Cleveland High School’s current SE Portland campus is dominated by a 1929 building by George H. Jones, who also designed the Benson Tech auditorium in the same year. The Cleveland building is set back from the road and heavily screened by trees, masking its historic character, which is further harmed by the loss if its original windows in the 1980s.
With half of the PPS high schools moving to new construction, the historic integrity at the modernized Benson is even more remarkable. Students and the community will enjoy the history that has been preserved for generations to come, along with the forward-looking new elements that are essential to its position as a leading polytechnic school.
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