LT Archives

Buildings change over time. People have memories, but when they leave with those memoires, it’s easy to forget what existed before changes were made. All over the school, ceilings are dropped, molding is changed and the original NC building from 1888 recedes behind decades of construction projects. What Patrick Page, an LT art teacher and the leader of the archives project, fears most is the total loss of this school history.

“Part of art history is the thought that culture matters, and that the things that people make matter too,” Page said. “Hopefully, one of the things that people in art history learn is that they should have a concern for culture, and a concern for nicely made things that tell you who you are.”

Page has been working on the archives project since 2007, when he discovered that his art history classroom was one of the only original classrooms in NC; however, it was hard to see the room’s age because contractors had indiscriminately covered up the original molding and ceiling with industrial high school paneling.

“It came out that there was some work on that room, and I realized that if we don’t promote this, who even knows that it’s there?” Page said. “We’ve done some research, and through that we’ve identified things, and found out things that we never could’ve imagined. My dream would be to restore the art history room one day. If I get hit by a car, tell my mom to take part of my money and do that. Sell my house, restore the room.”

Page enlisted current and graduated students to assist him in his research, which included in-depth looks at old LION newspapers, Tabulae yearbooks, student artwork and LT documentary photographs and papers. Maddie McDermott ‘12, Ana Mihajlovic ‘13 and Lisa Wronski ’09 all assisted Page in sifting through the massive amount of information and organizing it into the archives.

“Mr. Page asked our class if anyone wanted to help him scan yearbooks and newspapers, and I was interested in that,” McDermott said. “After I graduated, he would send out emails to people he knew were interested in the project, keeping them updated on what was going on.”

McDermott is currently a history major at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Her work on the LT archives this summer counted towards her undergraduate thesis.

“This project definitely affected my future plans,” McDermott said. “I’d like to be an archivist, so this will be an experience I can take to grad school, and into the real world.”

Page believes that one of the most important effects that the archives project will have on LT is the light it will shed on the importance of preserving and restoring school artifacts— namely, the Parthenon frieze gallery outside of the Reber Center at NC.

“The Parthenon gallery is such a crucial space that defines the school, and it gets so much traffic,” Page said. “If you view that space as it was originally designed, there’s nothing else like it in other high schools.”

The gallery outside of the Reber Center has undergone major changes over the years. The ceiling was dropped, obscuring the tops of the friezes, and the lighting was changed from ornamental lamps to fluorescent light strips. Page’s dream is to restore that hallway to its original state.

“If we’re going to restore that hallway, we should do everything right,” Page said. “It’s the symbolic center of the school, and if we do restore it, we should try promote it and try to get restoration awards for it. Get it known. Channel 11 has different things about Chicago history. Why not have one of those segments focus on LT’s history? It’s such a singular thing.”

Tom Cushing Sr., a member of the Board of Education, has expressed interest in restoring the frieze gallery, and has raised the issue with the board. “The Board has had preliminary discussions regarding the possibility of remodeling the hallway outside of the Reber Center so as to allow the central Parthenon frieze section to be re-hung on the west wall where it was originally installed in 1928,” Cushing said. “If action is recommended by LT’s Administration, the Board would vote on the proposal, including the financial commitment required.”

Cushing firmly believes in the importance of preserving LT history for future generations of students. “By preserving LT’s history we respect the traditions of the past, and we inspire present and future achievements,” Cushing said. “We know better who we are, who we can be and our place in upholding the standard of excellence begun at LT 125 years ago.”

The most special thing about the archives project is that it is largely a student-run operation, Page said.

“Kids decided to do this,” Page said. “So often students can be cynical, but here they’ve decided to do a positive thing. It’s wonderful to be able to say ‘We did this.’”

Students who are interested in learning more about the archives can come to Page with any questions.