Wednesday, March 31, 2010

March 31, deadline for Portlanders to take the Portland Plan survey--look at the link on Monday's post!

The other photographs I took at the Artifacts and Archives exhibits at the Architectural Heritage Center.

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The label for this said: Dome ventilator from the old St. Mary's School, built 1890, demolished 1970. Demolished--what a nasty, dreary, sad word. Not that I know the details of why the decision was made to do away with the building, but it's still sad to me.

To get an idea of just how large the dome ventilator is, click here. Then look at the second photo to see a group of artifacts in the same corner.

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The label for this said: Image of Old St. Mary's School just prior to its demolition ... the brand new Forecourt Fountain had recently been completed. Click on fountain to see it today.

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This color photo was on display, too. Look at the top of the dome. You can see at least four of the dome ventilators. Amazing, the scale of the ventilators and the size of the building.

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The labels for these items said: (top) Wood brackets with carved acanthus leaves, late 19th century, origin unknown. (middle) Wood scrolled cornice brackets, Fret Ornamentation , late 19th century, origin unknown. (bottom) Wood fret-work balustrade.

2 comments:

Katie said...

Nice to see photos of the old school. I am a graduate of St. Mary's Academy and the old building was demolished while I was a student there. Just across the street is a newer building to house the high school. The old building was a combination convent and school. While I was at St. Mary's music classes still met in the old building. The building was very old and the sisters could not afford to rehabilitate it. One of the traditions was to sneak up to the dome and sign your name on the wall or ceiling. I have always wondered if they preserved the dome anywhere with its thousands of signatures.

Lynette said...

Thank you, Katie. I am very happy to read your comment! I wish I could have seen the school and the entire wall around it.