Castle Keep

The party’s over and the place looks great. But does anybody wonder about the price paid for Stadium High?

The grand reopening of Stadium High School in September, following a two-year extreme makeover, was a full-fledged media event, attracting still photographers and TV crews from across the region and occasioning remote radio broadcasts, a special section in the News Tribune and the airing of a made-for-cable documentary.

Clearly, this was a big block party by any measure. More than 20,000 of the faithful (or the merely curious) visited the campus over the weekend, and the world record for a school reunion was easily broken by the 3,500-plus Stadium High Tigers whose status as grads was confirmed and documented.

Since it opened as a high school in 1906, “The Castle,” as everyone here calls it, has stood fast as proof of Tacoma’s often-heralded claim to destiny. Neither fire nor financial crisis nor the threat of demolition could bring this landmark down. And now, $108 million has made it better than new.

Everyone loves The Castle. Well, almost everyone. On my first trip to Stadium High, some weeks before the centennial blowout, I talked to a construction worker on the building crew (who requested that his name not appear in this story). He politely barred my way as I attempted to take some photos. Of course, I understood the liability issues, I said, as I positioned myself to make a dash past him for the ramparts, but, oh my, isn’t this an amazing project?

“Yeah, sure,” the worker replied sarcastically. “A hundred million bucks. You know how many schools they could’ve built with that?”

A week later, I met with Pati Lynn, president and cofounder of the Centennial Foundation, which helped raise funds for the makeover and the birthday party. Lynn, a Stadium alum, class of ’70, told me that she didn’t appreciate the importance of the school until well after college. “Suddenly,” she said, “I found myself taking friends from out of town to see it. They would wonder why I was taking them to see a high school when they were here on vacation — until they saw it. Then they understood.”

Lynn is perhaps the ultimate Stadium High supporter. She married her high school sweetheart and her four children graduated from Stadium. She even wears a silver replica of The Castle as a necklace pendant. I wondered if it wasn’t maybe something of an albatross around her neck, considering the enormous responsibility she’d taken on planning and fundraising for the upcoming centennial celebration. But after chatting with her, I saw the pendant as a statement of old-fashioned school pride. “Stadium is not just a school,” she maintains, “it’s the reason many people come to Tacoma. And it represents the hope for a great future in Tacoma.”

Jeff Ryan, one of the many architects that worked on the Stadium renovation, was born in Tacoma. He runs his own local architecture firm, Ryan & Ryan, which specializes in historic preservation. For two years prior to the start of the renovation, Ryan did historical research on The Castle without remuneration. He also spent more than six weeks exploring and measuring the place.

According to Ryan, the architecture is derivative of “chateauesque” mansions in southern France, a style popular on the East Coast, circa 1890, and passé by the turn of the century. There were only ever a few examples of this style on the West Coast, Ryan explains, so Stadium stands as a historical gem not only for Tacoma, but for the entire region.

An old gem worthy of a $100 million polishing? “Investing in these kinds of projects is crucial for any city,” says Ryan. “Without buildings like this, we’d be like anywhere else. Historical landmarks help create a sense of being, a sense of place and pride. You’ll find no better symbol of that in Tacoma than Stadium.”

For Reuben McKnight, historic preservation officer for Tacoma, there was no choice but to renovate Stadium — literally. “Historical preservation may seem to many people like an option — but really it is not,” he told me. “We have very clear laws in Tacoma that help to keep considerations of historical preservation as one of the main cornerstones of city planning.”

Stadium underwent its last major renovation during the 1950s. The latest project focused on restoring the building to its original character. This required the complete gutting of The Castle’s interior, all 300,000 square feet and nine stories, counting subbasements and a multi-storied attic. Greater even than the imperative to historical preservation was the focus on bringing the 100-year-old building up to code and retrofitting it to ensure that it’s sound enough to survive a major earthquake. Now Stadium High is a brand new building on the inside, while on the outside the original masonry has been preserved.

I walk down the hallway on my way to the principal’s office for the first time in years, taking in the echoes of Victorian and craftsman styles. Soft yellow walls, polished wood trim, marble floor detailing, doors with frosted-glass windows. I’m impressed. And I haven’t yet seen the new performing arts and physical education buildings out back. Can this really be … just a high school?

I meet Principal Jon Kellett, a man who enjoys his coffee very strong, and am shown into his new office. He’s at work, preparing for the coming school year, even though the building hasn’t officially opened yet.

A conference table is situated inside one of The Castle’s corner turrets, with a lovely view of Commencement Bay. I comment to Principal Kellett that not many people have such amazing views. “There is no building like this anywhere,” he states, “and I don’t know if there’s a high school that compares, either. In my 28 years in education, I’ve never seen anything like the community and alumni support that happens here.”

I tell him about the construction worker who can’t understand why the city would make such a huge investment here. Kellett is not fazed. “Tacoma has a long history of supporting public education,” he tells me. “The decision to renovate Stadium high was made by the community. I cannot stress that enough. And what a wonderful community that would recognize this landmark and put it to work for students for the next 100 years.”

I recall Reuben McKnight remarking that Tacoma has an excellent school district. “The renovation at Stadium is another example of what the school board is willing to do,” he said, “not only as an organization with a mission to provide functional educational facilities, but also as stewards of community assets.”

Seated in Principal Kellett’s office, I take in the view for as long as his schedule permits me. This is one comfortable seat on top of a tall hill. But, with so many less-than-beautiful public facilities and neighborhoods just minutes from The Castle, what is a visitor to understand about where Tacoma’s priorities lie?

To the west, a glimpse of peaceful Browns Point. To the east, Tacoma’s less picturesque industrial hub. Most striking to me is the calm expanse of water in between. It seems to reflect everything at the core of Stadium High’s renovation: resilience, fortitude and a longing for progress…whatever the cost. 

Photo by Chip Van Gilder