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| WELLESLEY HIGH SCHOOL: THE
SITE (The Wellesley Townsman, October 12, 2006) In 1936, after it was determined a new Wellesley Senior High was needed, an informal committee considered four locations, all in the vicinity of Hunnewell Field. The final selection was Kingsbury Park, so named because it was originally owned by the Kingsbury family. Here is an excerpt from the Building Committee’s report to the town: “The physical characteristics of the site had an important bearing in the selection of a building plan because the long mound of relatively high ground on which the building is placed provided the proper northeast-southwest orientation for all of the principal rooms, and as it widens out at its northerly end, it provided sufficient area for the Auditorium without requiring a large expenditure of filling to properly landscape the building….” The original plans of Robert Washburn Beal, landscape architect of the 1938 Wellesley High School building, have been lost but over the years there have been many successful efforts to enhance the grounds with memorial trees, boulders, arboretums and the courtyard that now ring the High School. Any consideration of future site-planning and development should take into account these remembrances by past classes. Most dramatic and unfortunate has been the loss of green space. Walkways and exterior gathering places are important to the site. What was formerly the front lawn of the High School has become another traffic lane that connects Paine Street with Rice Street and smothers the original approach to the 1938 building. Accommodations for traffic, parking and pedestrians should be creatively planned and carefully incorporated into our renovation project. The beauty of the natural setting of Wellesley High School is critical to asserting and maintaining the identity of a school that reflects and honors more than three generations of educational excellence. Next week: Wellesley High School: The Structure |
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