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Here are some reasons:

The 1938 Wellesley High School building is structurally sound.

It is an important and enduring part of the town’s educational and architectural heritage.

It works today just as it has for the past seventy years. Wellesley High School has earned many distinctions in athletics and performing arts, and in 2006 achieved the highest SAT scores in the western suburbs.

Its adaptable central site adjacent to Hunnewell Field has allowed later additions as needed.

The orientation of the building, maximizing sunlight, creates a positive learning
environment and significant “greening” benefit.

The courtyard, paved with commemorative bricks and graced with benches and trees, is a place of repose for the High School community.

The unifying eight-level central tower, inspired by the Stockholm town hall, boasts a custom-designed clock and weather vane with an eagle in flight
“to inspire youth’s soaring ambition” – all executed in gold leaf trim.

Unique exterior and interior architectural detail provides a unifying theme for the windows, sculptured symbols, brickwork, and woodwork (doors, cabinetry, etc.), slate sills, and limestone Wellesley W 's on the exterior – all examples of quality craftsmanship and use of irreplaceable materials not duplicated in today’s school construction.

Its carefully thought-out plan has resulted in architectural attractiveness
and functional design.

The 1938 Wellesley High School building represents the best in the International Style by General Robert Dean, highly acclaimed architect of Perry Shaw Hepburn of Boston. The award-winning Art Deco design represents a significant departure from previous neo-classic high school architecture.

High interior ceilings, spacious rooms, and central corridors allow optimal access and functional use.

The spacious 1978 Wilbury Crockett Library is functional and attractive. It is worthy of architectural enhancement integrated with the 1938 building. Its Frank Lloyd Wright setting at the edge of a wooded area provides a welcoming
and inviting atmosphere in a busy high school community.

The auditorium is a “beautiful space” (SMMA Architects) for student and
community use. A theater architect should be consulted for advice on making appropriate upgrades.

The upstairs gymnasium is used extensively by the school and community.
Its folding wooden partition enables it to be divided into two functional areas
adding flexibility to the space as originally designed.

"Planning for the future of Wellesley High School should go hand-in-hand with restoring and preserving the 1938 High School and its Wilbury Crockett Library. This approach is a fiscally responsible way of going forward with the Wellesley High School project. As a community we can work together to ensure that Wellesley High School will continue to provide optimal educational conditions for generations to come with its character at full strength and its identity intact."
(From the WHSPC brochure – 2007)

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