1. History

2. Notable alumni

3. References

4. External links

Stadium High School is a public high school in Tacoma, Washington, and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original building burned to a shell in 1898 while it was still a partially constructed hotel designed by Hewitt & Hewitt that was being used for storage. It was reconstructed for use as a school beginning in 1906 according to designs by Frederick Heath,^[2] and a "bowl" stadium was added later in 1910.

History

The main building was constructed by architects Hewitt and Hewitt^[3] for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and the Tacoma Land Company at what was then known as Blackwell Point. Construction began in 1891 with the intention of building a luxury hotel resembling a French château. The Panic of 1893, however, brought construction to an abrupt halt when the Northern Pacific was faced with financial disaster. The unfinished building became a storage facility, with much of the building materials still inside. On October 11, 1898, the building was gutted by a massive fire. The walls remained standing, and the Northern Pacific began to dismantle the structure, removing some 40,000 bricks that would be used to construct still-existing train stations in Missoula, Montana, and Wallace, Idaho.

The Tacoma School District purchased the gutted building on February 19, 1904, with the intent of turning it into a high school. The redesign and later renovations were planned by the school's architect, Frederick Heath.^[4] It was repaired and renovated into a school.^[5] Despite its extraordinary locale and design, on the inside it looks, feels, and operates like a typical American high school.^[6]

The reconstructed building opened on September 10, 1906, as Tacoma High School. Seven years later, the name was changed to reference the adjacent Stadium Bowl. Later additions included a circular lunchroom, an underground swimming pool, a science and industrial arts complex,^[5] a gymnasium, and a multi-story parking lot structure with tennis courts on the roof.

The stadium, also designed by Frederick Heath, dates from 1910 and is in a location once known as Old Woman's Gulch. It was originally much grander than it is today, with a seating capacity of 32,000. Among those who spoke there were Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, William Jennings Bryan, and Billy Sunday.^[7]

The stadium was originally built in 1909–1910 using steam shovels and sluicing to move more than {{convert|180000|cuyd|m3}} down the edges of the gulch to create a flat playing field of {{convert|2.5|acre|m2}}. Wooden molds were built to cast concrete for 31 rows of stadium seating surrounding the playfield.^[7]

The original structure exceeded what the soil could support. A restoration project in the 1970s had to sacrifice roughly half of the seating capacity because of instability. In 1981 a burst storm drain washed away the scoreboard and the bayward end zone of the football field. This was followed by a further restoration allowing the stadium to reopen in 1985.^[7]

The school was the filming location for many of the scenes of the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You.

In 2005-2006 the school underwent a major renovation, seismic upgrade, historical restoration, and expansion. Bassetti Architects were the design architects, and Merrit Pardini Architects (later Krei Architecture) were the architects of record for this work.^[8] During the renovation, students were temporarily relocated to the old site of Mount Tahoma High School in the south end, just over {{convert|7|mi|km}} away.

The centennial celebration of Stadium High School was held on September 16, 2006. The celebration was attended by 3299 alumni, setting a Guinness World Record for the largest recorded school reunion.^[9]

Notable alumni

• Bill Baarsma, '60, Tacoma mayor^[10]
• Sam Baker, former NFL Pro Bowl player; transferred after his junior year^[11]
• Bruce Bennett (b. Herman Brix) '24, Olympic shot-put medalist and Hollywood actor^[10]
• Rosemarie Bowe, '50, actress, wife of Robert Stack^[12]
• Cathryn Damon, '47, stage, TV and film actress^[10]
• R. N. DeArmond, author, historian{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
• Jeff Durgan, professional soccer player (retired){{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
• Evan Hunziker, man who spent three months in North Korean custody for illegally entering the country^[13]
• Josh Keyes, artist
• Edward LaChapelle, avalanche researcher{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
• Al Libke, former MLB player (Cincinnati Reds)
• Michael Manuel,actor{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
• Vicci Martinez, acoustic-rock singer/songwriter{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
• Marjie Millar (b. Marjie Miller), '49, TV and movie actress^[10]
• Gordon Naccarato, '72, restaurateur
• Eric T. Olson, '69, admiral and commander of U.S. Special Operations Command ^[10]
• Janis Paige (b. Donna Mae Jaden), '40, film and theater actress^[10]
• Dixy Lee Ray, '33, chair of federal Atomic Energy Commission, Governor of Washington^[10]
• Debbie Regala, '63, State Senator, District 27 - D^[10]
• Irv Robbins, '35?, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins^[14]
• Albert Rosellini, '27, attorney, civic leader, governor of Washington^[10]
• James Sargent Russell, '18, admiral, commander of NATO forces in Europe^[10]
• Sugar Ray Seales, '71, boxer, 1972 Olympic gold medalist and professional prizefighter^[10]
• Doug Sisk, former MLB player (New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves)
• Jeff Stock, professional soccer player{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
• Jack Tuell, '40, author and bishop in the United Methodist Church
• Robert McCawley Short, '25, aviator^[15]

References

External links

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121005031657/http://www.tacoma.k12.wa.us/sites/schools/stadium/Pages/default.aspx Stadium High School official site]

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