| The balcony has been walled off and is now a classroom. Note the tables
that
fold down from the wall; since the cafeteria is gone we assume they use
this as the lunch room. We did too (hot lunch at the tables
in the
cafeteria, sack lunch in the gym) but of course in our day were rugged
enough to sit on the floor <g>. |
| The locker rooms (far wall) which I don't ever recall being
in when at
Hoover are now storage rooms. The door to the cafeteria is
gone (as is
the cafeteria). |
| Backstage there is a movable wall (left side
of
picture), allowing the stage to be used as a band classroom, but still
allowing it to be a stage if needed. There was a dressing
room back
stage that has been converted into an office. |
|
The old "main entrance" in the middle of the building next to the
former principal's office has been walled over. The new main
entrance
are the doors near the gym. As best Bob and I can recall if
one would
have entered through these doors in our day they would have seen a wall
in front of them, which was the wall of the cafeteria. One
could walk
to the left to the gym or to the right to get to a hallway which would
take one to the cafeteria. The wall is gone, and there is
this open
area (the former cafeteria), which in the photo has a row of tables
with old Hoover memorabilia. I don't know what such a large
open area
is normally used for. |
| To the right is the new principal's
office (in
the photo this is right behind Dad, the old guy in the red coat looking
away from the camera).
|
|
First floor hallway, from the gym toward the kindergarten room.
About half as long as I remember it and not nearly so wide :)
Note the modern ceiling and lighting, though I can't say I
recall what the old looked like. At the right of the picture
are new
rooms; in our day these would have been (not necessarily in order) a
teacher's lounge, room that was a music room and first floor library,
nurses office, principal's office, and main entryway. |
|
This photo shows a door to a room. These look
original to me (except perhaps the knob), as does the tile on the wall. |
|
Lots of differences. The ceiling has been lowered
considerably, but the same old fluorescent fixtures are there and still
regular start... I wonder where one can buy starters these days! Note
the old coat closet in the back of the room is gone (aha, that's why
there are lockers in the hallway now). That area appears to
be a
storage closet now. Note these two rooms are connected
together. Everything seems so cluttered... looks like there is stuff
everywhere.
Sorry about getting Brother Bob's head in the photo. |
|
The old bulletin boards are still there; the chalkboards
are there but covered over. |
| The old part of the building
(there is a
new addition on the back) is still steam heat with radiators.
This
must have been one of the last steam heat buildings built... I thought
that would have been out by 1950. There is a window air
conditioner,
but the teacher says this is a mixed blessing. It's very loud
and
makes it hard for the kids to hear. |
|
The round windows are still there, but lots of changes. There
was an
entrance from the outside that has since been walled over, a cloak room
(now gone), and a couple of small bathrooms, also now gone.
Also,
those dropped ceilings really make things look smaller. I
suppose it
was done for energy efficiency? Easier to heat, perhaps?
|
| The ceilings
in all rooms are 2-3 feet lower, and one of my main memories of the
kindergarden room were those tall windows. This room is now
preschool;
kindergarten is in the new addition off the back. |
|
In our day on each floor the boys restrooms were at the end of the hall
toward the gym, girls at the opposite end of the hall, towards Mt.
Loretto. They were U-shaped; one walked in one door and out
the other;
today they have been cut in half, one side girls the other boys (thus
there are both girls and boys restrooms at both ends of the hall).
|
| This is the far end of what was the balcony that is
now a classroom. If the wall to the left of the picture was opened up
one would be looking into the gym. |
| The picture is taking facing Broadway; in our day I would have been
standing halfway into the balcony probably along the top row of
bleachers to take this. The room at the far end of the picture (with
the window air conditioner) would have been the library in our time.
There was of course a wall between the balcony and the library;
probably an extension of the wall the remains today with the door to
the stairway. |
| Closeup of a railing and short set of steps leading to a door. Per
Bob's and my recollection in our day as one walked down these steps the
gym would have been in front of you and the balcony bleachers would
have been to your right. The door was right where it is now, and might
very well be the same door. The door leads to a narrow stairway (see last picture). |
| The stairs come out on the first
floor right outside the door to the gym. |