Madison High School - Federalist Yearbook (Portland, OR)

Page 9 text:

5 5 i iv Q Q Q al AG 1 153 -5F f'g EU- Dolly and James Madison, portrayed by Linda Darling, 1967 graduate, and Olin Clark, 1964 Tenth Year Q graduate, light the candles on the huge birth- day cake as the choir watches. Principal Walter Erickson cut and present- ed the first piece of cake to Mrs. Luella Metcalf, the first retired teacher. Q- K 5

Page 8 text:

Mrs. Norma Cramer, Miss Gwen Kohns, and Mrs. McKay Meindl, teachers who have taught for ten years at Madison, reminisce with alumnae about past years. Compared to other Portland High Schools like Lincoln and Washington, Madison is rela- tively newg yet, in the course of her short history, Wilson, Marshall, and Jackson have been erected. No longer a new school and not yet old, Madison has nevertheless completed a decade, and for schools, as for people, certain milestones call for special celebrations. On March 22, a birthday party was in order. Old and current students joined together in helping to make the day a distinctive one. The dramatic and choral departments presented an ammiversary program to the student body the morning of the twenty-second. Later in the eve- ning, alumni assembled for class meetings and then gathered in the auditorium for the assem- bly. Afterwards they joined other guests in the cafeteria for the reception. Special recognition was given to the thirty-three faculty members who have been on the staff since Madison opened in 1957 and to the three retired teachers. Madison Celebrates Alumni found conversation with old classmates as delightful as the cake, coffee, and punch served at the reception.

Page 10 text:

Principal Stephen Smith explains the vast network of halls and classrooms to student guides preparing to assist in- coming students upon the first day of school in 1957. The decision was made to build James Madison High School in 1954 because of the growth of northeast and southeast Portland and the over-crowding of Grant, Franklin, and Wash- ington High Schools. After two years of plan- ning, construction began in 1956 on a grassy hill overlooking Rose City Golf Course. The site was transformed into a magnificent five-million dollar campus. Construction materials were the highest quality brick, tile, and stainless steel. The architectural firm of Stanton, Bole, Maguire, and Church plarmed the school so that each classroom has one wall consisting of two- thirds windowsg consequently, people began re- ferring to the building as the Glass Palace. The architects had school dances in mind when they designed a cantilevered roof for the spacious cafeteria, thereby eliminating obtrusive pillars. They planned the auditorium with a seating capacity of over fourteen-hundred seats to serve as an activity center for northeast Portland. One year later, in the early fall of 1957, Madison High School was ready for her students. Befitting the opening of what The Oregonian called a handsome structure, the latest in de- sign, where pupils enjoy all frills of modern education, including swimming pool, several ath- letic fields, theatre, and college-size gym, an impressive dedication ceremony was held on October 23. Faculty members and educational leaders of Portland took part as interested parents and proud students watched. This aerial view, taken August 22, 1957, shows the smooth modern lines of the new high school set in a campus overlook- ing Rose City Golf Course. w l 1 I 4 4 1 l 1