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	PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION I - WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE? (The Wellesley Townsman – 12/21/06) The Wellesley High School Preservation Committee endorses the preservation of the present school library, auditorium, lobby, administrative offices, and upstairs gymnasium. These spaces have the potential to meet the needs of the High School and community for the foreseeable future. Elimination of each of these facilities from its present location, as recommended in concept “C” that the School Committee selected in November (see The Wellesley Townsman, December 7, 2006), gives rise to a domino effect that would radically alter the interior and exterior of the building as well as access to the school and campus. 1. The Wilbury Crockett Library at the High School was built in 1978. Sited to allow community access, this facility continues to be a functional part of the school. With some creativity, it can be made to complement the style of the 1938 building. Its Frank Lloyd Wright setting at the edge of the wooded area provides a unique library environment. The structure lends itself to such architectural enhancements as the creation of conference rooms and the addition of large windows looking out on the natural landscape. Preservation of the Crockett Library would retain this infinitely desirable atmosphere, and it would serve to prevent the dismantling of the auditorium to accommodate the library that concept “C” envisions. 2. The auditorium and lobby also require architectural imagination and commitment in order to achieve needed improvements. Expansion of the backstage area, addition of functionally related spaces, updated lighting and sound systems, and improved handicap access would create a first rate performing arts venue as well as a suitable facility for school and community gatherings. Refurbishing the lobby would enable Wellesley High School to extend the elegant welcome that generations of people have come to expect and enjoy. Preservation of these spaces would also save the first floor administrative offices and thereby make unnecessary their relocation in the space currently occupied by the locker rooms situated below the 1938 gymnasium, a restructuring that concept “C” endorses. 3. The 1938 upstairs gymnasium, scheduled in concept “C” for conversion into space for other uses, today serves the school and community as a recreational facility. This gymnasium has solid wood paneling and a folding partition that enables it to be divided into two useable spaces. For much of the year it supports a full schedule of activities, including health and fitness, cheerleading, athletic practices, wrestling, and recreational basketball. Updates to this facility would benefit everyone using it for years to come. Preservation of these major components of the high school is essential to keeping the identity of Wellesley High School intact, and it prevents the negative impact of dismantling one functional part of the building only to recreate it in another part. We recognize departmental program needs for improved and expanded facilities at the high school. We urge the adoption of our proposal to preserve the library, auditorium, lobby, administrative offices, and upstairs gymnasium as one that would enable departments to meet their needs through the use of the 1938 building and appropriately designed additional spaces. Its implementation would result in minimal disruption to the daily operation of the high school. Our proposal recognizes the value of what the town of Wellesley has built, and it incorporates our educational heritage into a vision of a 21st century state-of-the-art Wellesley High School. Next week: Restoration and Preservation II - What needs to be done?

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