North High School - Tower Yearbook (Wichita, KS)

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EHMDQJIH ILE? BASE... School Celebrates 50th Birthday ln the fall of 1929, Principal Grove Dotzour, a faculty of 40 teachers, an 800 students opened a new hlg school at the corner or 13th and Rocl ester beside the Arkansas River. B1 cause of the hlstorlcal significance 1 the building site, the Redskln mascc was chosen for the school. The lan had been settled by the Wlchlta Ind ans ln the 1860's near the fork of th Blg and the Little Arkansas Rlvers. The decorations on the bulldlng ar a plctorial statement of the Indlan-Pla neer lnfluence of this community These ornamentatlons, regarded a Modern American architecture, wer developed by Bruce Moore, sculpto Lawrence Byers, designer, and Gle Thomas, architect. ln 1929 the stock market crashe whlle construction of North was beln completed. The estimated costs t bulld North amounted to S900,000 fc the actual bulldlng, S135,000 for th campus, and costs for the equlpmer S250,000. Slnce there was no bond le sue for North, It was built on the pay as-you-go plan. What a bargain I these days of Inflatlon. The Mlnlsa Bridge, another symbl of North, was constructed In 1932 t replace the brldge whlch had stoo slnce 1872. In keeping wlth the orna mental deslgns on the bulldlng, Arch tect Glen Thomas and hls asslstanl Lawrence Byers, and sculptor, Bruc Moore, once again set to work to de sign the bridge to harmonize with th architectual feature of the bulldlng. All of these building features, plu shaded sidewalks, flower gardenf neatly kept grounds and a sloping r verbank to the Little Arkansas ha made North one of WichIta's most dl: tlnctive landmarks. lt was a beautiful school then, still is now. -Strauss l-ligglns, '31, Whlle researching hlstorlcal facts for on magazine, we were fortunate enough to ru across the orginal plctures showing the com struction of North Hlgh ln different stages star lng ln August 1928. They were loaned to us t Glen Thomas, the son of the architect, wt keeps them stored In the Hutchinson Sa Mines. Our Tower photographers photocople the pictures so they could be preserved here 1 school If anything ever happened to the orlg nals.

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f ' A I 1 - la 'fs' ' Hi' if I -av we Q C T' , ,.4n-A f FIVE DECADES OF NORTH HIGH For flfty years, the strong, embellished structure of North High has graced the shore of Little Arkansas River. Thousands of students have come and graduated, holding with th memories of one of the most Important times of their lives, memories of p f I ght , a f y uth, that mprlse the years of hlgh school. A Tower Publication 1437 Rochester Wichita, Kansas 67203 Volume XLIX th

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