PARKER —Inside an exhibit room of is a diorama of the historic town as it looked in the early part of the 20th century. In that diorama is a little replica of the schoolhouse itself.
The building at 19650 Mainstreet opened to students in 1915. It has undergone many changes since, including the addition of an annex with 200-seat theater. It’s served roles including school, church, theater, gym, dance studio and cultural center.
Thanks in part to state grant funding and support from the the original building is being rehabbed.
Restoration crews recently completed the first phase of a multi-year, $1.1 million refurbishing and rehabilitation project. Ultimately, by the end of 2017, town officials hope that the entire original portion of the building will be restored to the splendor of the day it first welcomed students a century ago.
“It’s just kind of the heart and soul of downtown Parker,” said Elaine Mariner, the town’s cultural director. “We’re really honoring its legacy by restoring it.”
The first phase of the project, which was being wrapped up last week, included restoring 14 Mainstreet-facing windows and installing replica front doors. Crews also removed the former principal’s office that was added on the second floor. The room obscured the original arched entryway windows that let light into the main corridor.
“All of sudden the mood is lighter and more welcoming,” Mariner said.
Crews have already begun work on phase 2: restoring the main stairwell and garden level. Carpet has been torn up throughout the lower level revealing warm-toned hard wood. Mariner said eventually the upstairs dance studio will be moved to the garden level, doubling its space and giving students the chance to pirouette on planks trod over by thousands of local kids over the years.
Several non-original walls have been knocked out downstairs, resulting in some surprising discoveries. Paul Matosky, site supervisor for restoration specialist , said crews have uncovered several student-sourced artifacts including a selection of wrapped candy left in the walls. One wrapper, a Curtiss brand product reading “3 sticks for a penny,” dates before the 1930s, based on Matosky’s online research.
“It’s just fun to see that kind of history come back to life,” Matosky said, crediting Parker officials for supporting a deliberate, detailed approach to the work. “It’s about bringing it back to a preservation aesthetic that people can enjoy.”
The first phase cost $213,975, with $100,275 of that coming in the form of a grant from the , Mariner said. The Town Council voted to provide the remaining $113,700. The has already chipped in $198,045 toward the phase 2 work. Mariner said part of the idea behind phasing the work, which should wrap late next year with restoration of the exterior brick, was to take advantage of the grants, which are capped at $200,000 per cycle.
Mayor Mike Waid praised the piecemeal approach and Mariner and company’s efforts to work with state partners. He called the work so far “fantastic.”
“I think (this project) is a great way of respecting and honoring the history of what we have in that facility and making it so it has the longevity to last for future generations,” Waid said.
Waid said his son took his first ever fencing class at the schoolhouse complex, a passion he has since taken to the Junior Olympics. The schoolhouse center and attached theater and gymnasium have remained very busy and popular even after the PACE Center opened in 2005, Mariner said. The complex hosted 21,328 guests in 2015 alone, officials said.
Suzanne Velasquez, who oversees daily operations at the complex, said it has been a bit of a juggling act accommodating classes and renters while work goes on, but visitors seem less bothered than intrigued by the progress.
She added: “When people come through here they are very excited to see the renovation in progress and are beginning to visualize what this building was and will become.”
Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953, jrubino@denverpost.com or @RubinoJC
