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N. Alexander School open for viewing on Saturday, April 5
The first floor of the school will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and no admission fee or ticket is needed to enter. Volunteers will be on hand to welcome visitors, many of whom are alumni, and guide them on a tour of the restoration that is a "work in progress." With many of the new windows in place, the outdoor light will help provide many a true "step back in time" filled with many memories. The North Alexander School was constructed in l897 to serve as the public school in the City of Washington. The classic Victorian building, whose total construction cost was $17,000, was considered "state of the art" and included sanitary plumbing, central heating and electric lights. It continued as an active center of local education until l971. Since then, the building with its looming bell tower, languished as a catchall storage facility and deteriorated rapidly. In the l990's, concerned citizens formed the North Alexander School Association (NASA) to save the structure. A combination of local fund-raising and grants raised the needed $150,000 to install a new slate roof, stabilizing the building and preserving it from further water damage. This massive effort exhausted the organizers and stymied further progress on the restoration. New life was breathed into the NASA when the organization received a $200,000 "challenge" grant from an anonymous local family in 2006. This grant allows NASA to earn a matching dollar for every dollar raised up to the $200,000 before the end of 2009. To date, approximately $40,000 has been collected. This year the improvements have included an ongoing cleanup of the interior of the building, the restoration of 16 first floor windows, the first installment from a private donor of a contribution toward restoration of the front entry, researching available grants, contacting a mechanical engineer to determine electrical needs and completion of a study to assess the community opinions about the best use for the building with an overwhelming consensus that use as a "cultural center" would be ideal.
Everyone is invited to tour this area of Washington history.
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