Charleston, King Street, Rivers High School
Image by hdes.copeland
Charleston, SC, 1002 King Street. Rivers High School main building interior of a classroom located on the 2nd floor of the east wing. Photo taken August 2008.
This landmark public high school building built in 1935-36 as a WPA project is currently owned by the Charleston County school district. Rivers School had been occupied continuously since 1936 by a junior high, a senior high and a middle school. In 2005 its middle school program was moved out and merged with a nearby high school. Administrative offices and an adult education program continued to occupy a portion of the historic school building until January 2008.
Vacant school buildings tend to deteriorate rapidly if basic a maintenance plan isn’t followed. The best means to preserve a school building with a minimum of costs is to continue using it as a school. Some school districts, instead of selling properties such as this only to turn around and build more, are offering the vacant space for use by public charter schools. The Charleston County school district is proposing to close and sell several of its historic urban and rural school properties in favor of its newer suburban mega schools. This is in spite of current real estate market conditions and local community support for exploring other options.
There was wide public support expressed in May 2007 to make this classic school building and large centrally located urban campus available for use by a new math and science oriented charter school start up. Despite the public’s formal support endorsing the move following a school district initiated charette, the charter school’s formal petition to occupy the vacant building in 2008 was put off by the school board. Instead the charter school was given portable and temporary modular buildings which the school district leased at its expens and placed in the vacant school’s rear yard. Meanwhile the main building continues to deteriorate from lack of use and deferred maintenance.
Sustainablility? Conservation? Wise and responsible use of public assets in difficult times? Who knows?
The new charter school for math and science is meeting all expectations and excelling anyway.
Rivers High School, originally known as the Junior High School of Charleston, currently the site of Charleston Charter School for Math and Science, is located at 1002 King Street in the North Central Neighborhood of Charleston, SC. This photo taken was taken in August 2008.
Photo and text posted: August 2008
Revised: 21 December 2010
Copyrights reserved: hdescopeland
Tags:best, Design, interior, Nice, photos, schools
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