CENTRAL JR. HIGH SCHOOL
6300 Walker Street

Many thanks to Carolyn Charles, retired Park High teacher and communications officer,  for much of the following information.

The building that some know as St. Louis Park High School, Others as Central Jr. High, and still others as the home of the Spanish Immersion Program, has a long and interesting history:

THE 1914 BUILDING

The first structure located at 6300 Walker Street was built in 1914. That first portion of the school was dedicated in a two day ceremony in January. The building was built at a cost of $60,000 – three stories with very high ceilings. The building was described by Dorothy Hatch Langlie:

The new school was a model of the latest ideas in school planning, offering every facility for work and play. The classrooms were large, with huge windows designed to take advantage of sun and air. The seventh and eighth grades had their own home rooms, but for the high school there was a spacious assembly hall with classrooms opening off of it. There was a sunny library for reference work, sewing and cooking rooms, a horticulture room with a greenhouse, manual training [woodworking] workshops, chemistry lab and a big auditorium for programs, plays, gym classes and basketball games. On the grounds were tennis courts at the rear.

(“The Honorable”) T.B. Walker donated Block 17 for the new school, and Block 16 (five acres) for experimental agriculture. At the time there was a proposal to name the building Walker High School, but it was not to be.

Walker also donated Block 33 in front of the new school for an athletic field. In the winter, the Village would flood the area for a skating rink. That site was eventually taken in the early 1930s when Highway 7 was built.

Superintendent Hatch was on the forefront of the Junior/Senior High School concept, which was used at this new school. 7th and 8th grades were moved from elementary school to Junior High with 9th graders.

The school paper, The Echo, was started in 1916, and the yearbook – The Echowan – debuted in 1929.


Another picture of the 1914 building, taken in the '20s.  Highway 7 wasn't built until 1934.

As parents learned more about the new Highway 7 (at the time referred to as Highway 12), they became concerned for the safety of their children who had to cross it to get to school. One student remembers that high school classes in the late 1930s had to use both schools, which added to the concern. On October 19, 1932 [that doesn't sound right - Highway 7 wasn't built until 1934], the PTA appealed to the Village Council to build a tunnel that would go under the highway. The resulting tunnel quickly became a dirty, disgusting pigsty, where more kids went to relieve themselves than to relieve their parents. The tunnel was declared unfit for human perambulation and was filled in. When the Wooddale overpass was built in 2010 we hoped that the tunnel would be found, but none was reported.  At right is Marie Hartmann at the tunnel in 1937.

                                                                                                                

In March 1936, 150-200 high school students staged a two-day strike to protest the school board's acceptance of the resignation of Principal J.W. McNeal. McNeal had resigned over "differences" with School Board Superintendent N.H. McKay, who threatened not to reinstate seven teachers (they eventually were all reinstated). Students and parents also demanded the reinstatement of the teachers.  Students - about half the student body and mostly juniors and seniors) trudged two miles in the slush to McNeal's house, ignoring the blanket suspension. The Minneapolis Star reported that there were strangers wearing "574" buttons, which may have been members of  Teamsters Local 574, the group that staged the infamous 1934 Minneapolis truckers' strike.  The paper called them outside agitators. The paper also reported that some teachers shoved members of the press.                                Photo courtesy David Hughes

A meeting was held and the strike ended, apparently with the students gaining nothing. A letter dated March 30, 1936 was sent to Supt. McKay by the Supt. of the Mound School District, “expressing his gratitude” at the action to fire McNeal, “considering the breadth and depth of his demands.” He went on to say “Their decision will have immense effect upon the status of the authority of boards an superintendents with an according effect upon school morale.”

THE 1937 BUILDING

In 1937, the first addition was built east of the original building. The new school cost $300,000: 45 percent from WPA funding and the rest from a bond issue of $130,000. Haxby & Bissell were the architects, and Mads Madson was the builder. The Centralized RCA Victor School Sound System was installed by Lucker Sales Co. “A Good Sound Investment.”

The school opened in the fall of 1938, and the Dedication Ceremony was held on October 26, 1938. Since there were more Junior High students at the time, some High School students remained at Lincoln that first year, which was a disappointment to some. This addition did become the Senior High, and the 1914 building became the Junior High. The two were connected by a passageway, and when the building was first occupied, the first floor wasn't ready so students had to enter by way of the junior high. 150 students occupied the eight classrooms on the second floor.

The 1938 Park Directory boasted that the auditorium could seat 1,000, with a stage 56 x 106 - the largest in the Northwest. It was put to use on November 19, 1938, when a “Gala Performance” benefit was held to raise money for a grand piano. The Dedication Program promised that “The finest talent in the Northwest will entertain you and your friends.” The concert was sponsored by Mrs. Louise Lupien Jenkins.

The athletic field cost $250,000; $122,400 was paid for by the Public Works Administration (PWA).

The WPA was involved with other school-related activities. Participants canned fruits and vegetables to be used for winter hot lunches. The WPA furnished the work and the school furnished the food. County schools were also the beneficiaries of WPA labor to fix up their properties, with some receiving new basements, a new water supply, new roofs, furnaces, etc. Most of the work in the Park consisted of painting and redecorating.

In 1941 a new Industrial Arts wing was added to the north side of the 1914 building.

In 1946-47, 16 rooms of elementary children Grades 4-6 were crowded into the junior-senior high school. To make more classrooms, the gym of the 1914 building was divided into two stories.

The Class of 1949 had 209 graduates, then the highest in history. The first of many graduation exercises was for the seniors to give up their seats to the juniors at the senior assembly.

In 1952 additions were made to the east, including a new cafeteria and library, and opened that September. But in 1953 the class size was well over 100.

Conditions were so crowded that in the 1954-55 and 1955-56 school years, students attended school in double shifts. 1331 junior high students attending class in the morning and the 881 high school students attending class in the afternoon. During those years there were almost 2,500 students in the building.

The 1956-57 school year saw the opening of the new high school on 33rd and Dakota. The Walker Street building became St. Louis Park Jr. High.

Westwood Jr. High was built in 1959.


1963 ADDITIONS

Starting in 1962, the original 1914 building was razed and replaced by the "new section" on the west side. It was described as a $900,000 (or $1,100,000) remodeling and rebuilding job. It included five science rooms, 8 general classrooms, 3 art rooms, a special activities room, band room, vocal room, girls’ phy ed facilities, visual aid office, nurse’s quarters, and a multipurpose room for speech, dramatics and visual aids. The project also included the remodeling of the offices of the principals and counselors and the improving of facilities for industrial arts.

Approximately 1,200 pupils attended Central Jr. High in the 1963-64 school year.

In 1963, Superintendent Harold Enestvedt was one of four Minnesotans to travel to Sweden for six weeks to evaluate the country’s school system and make recommendations for changes. The program was financed by the Swedish government.

The pool was added in 1967.

In 1980, with declining enrollments, the two junior highs were merged and located at Westwood, which became St. Louis Park Junior High School. A farewell celebration was held on May 19, at which former students and teachers met and heard remarks from former principals and superintendents.

After closing as a junior high, Central was used for a community center.

In 1990, ten years after closing, Central staff met for a reunion at the VFW.  The Historical Society has a DVD of that event.

In 1992, Central became home to the Park Spanish Immersion Program.

In 2009, Central staff met to note the 50th anniversary of the school's opening. 

 

The SLP Historical Society has yearbooks for the years 1970 and 1972-1980.  We also have a literary publication called "Centricity" from 1972.

 

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.