Snohomish High School’s newest building preserves part of its past

SNOHOMISH — The Snohomish High School B Building has seen a lot of history since it was built in 1938.

In its last years, the 61,000-square-foot facility held the library, classrooms and administrative offices. It also was the place where the basketball team played home games for its 1970 state championship.

At the end of this week, the building will be razed to make space for school buses.

Demolition started Nov. 29 and is scheduled to continue this week. By Monday, the classrooms and offices were already gone. A wall was torn down and the gymnasium could be seen from outside the school.

“It’s tough to see an old building being torn down, especially one that has such character and that I attended classes in,” said Jason Brandvold, 41, who graduated in the Class of 1989. He saw the work and took a few pictures to record the event.

Tearing down the old gym building brings five years of remodeling down the home stretch.

A new B Building opened Oct. 1, along with a new library. The school’s new Performing Arts Center opened its doors at the beginning of the school year.

The work enlarged the school by about 2,000 square feet. It is now 255,200 square feet, up from 253,000.

Another change is that the school is no longer mostly made of bricks. The new concrete and wood walls provide better insulation, and there are more windows, which bring in more light.

Students and visitors can still see old bricks, wood and even parts of the basketball court on several walls in the new buildings. “We wanted to preserve the history (of the school) but prepare for the future,” Assistant Principal Gordy Brockman said.

And anyone who wishes can take a brick from a pile near the tennis courts through the end of the month.

Students admit feeling a bit nostalgic as they watch the older buildings being demolished. Junior Anna Dombal remembered attending the old Performing Arts center before it was torn down. “It’s sad, but the new one is nice,” said Anna, 16.

Senior Kody Sparks, 17, noted that seniors have seen changes every year. And he’s happy with the results. “It reminds me of a college campus,” he said. “Over the years, it’s becoming one.”

Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@ heraldnet.com.