Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 26, 1990 TAG: 9004260471
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY LINN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As part of the festival, the band, choir, drill team, cheerleaders and student government are all being reactivated for the day. Former faculty sponsors will be directing brief performances by alumni who were members of those organizations. Alumni who were Student Government Association members will help in the sale of candy bars and in other projects.
At 7 p.m. there will be a basketball exhibition game in the gym by past Jefferson basketball players, followed by dancing to "golden oldies" music. Admission is $3 for the game and dance.
Jefferson High holds a magic quality for many of its graduates. "There was something about the structure of the building," said retired Judge Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, president of the class of 1939 and chairman of the Jefferson Center Foundation. "It is magnificent, dignified, with those big towers on the outside. Discipline was tough in those days, and the student almost always was wrong.
"Study halls in the auditorium were classic. I still chuckle when I think of classmates sitting in the back and rolling marbles down that plank floor. It sounded like a pinball machine as those marbles hit the legs of seats.
"Times were simpler then," he added. "We made friends for life, and preparing us for life was what Jefferson High School was all about."
Jefferson Center Foundation was formed in 1989 to raise $2 million toward the renovation of the old building. If it is successful, the city has promised to put $3.5 million toward the project. To date $1,350,000 has been raised, which is 67 percent of the goal.
If the project is completed as planned, the foundation will assume responsibility for management of the building for the city, which will retain ownership of the building and lease it to the foundation.
The first phase of the project calls for renovating 55 percent of the structure now and stabilizing the remaining 45 percent. The main entrance will feature a glass pavilion to receive visitors from Luck Avenue. There will be on-site parking for 300 cars, with approximately 600 additional off-street parking spaces within two blocks of the center.
Plans for the first floor include offices for arts, human service and civic groups, along with classrooms, meeting rooms and a food service area. Copying and fax facilities will be shared. The auditorium, boasting excellent acoustics and restored seating, curtains, lighting and solid oak moldings, will accommodate an audience of 800.
The gymnasium, built in 1972, will be converted to an all-purpose room for receptions, banquets, exhibits and performances.
On the second floor there will be studio space for artists and a gallery.
The third floor will house office space that could be used for administrative offices for social service agencies with shared conference and training room facilities.
For further information about the festival or the renovation project, call the Jefferson Center, 343-2624.
by CNB