Lower Merion High School - History

History

In 1894, with the consolidation of the area's three village high schools (Merion Square, Bryn Mawr, and Ardmore), Lower Merion began its first year in a stone building shared with the Ardmore Avenue Elementary School in Ardmore (photo). In 1897, nine students participated in the school's first commencement ceremony. The original high school faculty had seven members, including the principal and superintendent. The curriculum offered only a two-year preparation for either college or industry.

The Ardmore Avenue School burned in 1900 but was rebuilt, also of stone (photo). In 1911, the high school moved out of the elementary school to new quarters designed and constructed at the present site of 245 E. Montgomery Avenue. Dedicated on December 2, 1911, "Lower Merion Senior High School" was an impressive granite and stone edifice considered to be one of the finest new educational facilities in the state. The 17-acre (69,000 m2) property, complete with three stone-arch entrances, landscaped grounds and a football stadium, eventually grew to 23 acres (93,000 m2), with the purchase and annexation of the Clarke House. At its opening, twenty-one staff members were employed under principal "Professor" Charles B. Pennypacker. (photo)

In 1922, Ardmore Junior High School was constructed adjacent to the senior high school and in 1926 two new wings were added on either side of the main high school building. These additions doubled the size of the original school, helping to accommodate rapidly increasing enrollment. The present administration building was constructed in 1932 to provide office space and an additional twenty-five classrooms. By 1940, the teaching staff had expanded to 61 under the direction of principal George H. Gilbert. Total student enrollment was 1461 for grades 10–12.

In 1943 an adjoining "technical" building was added along the School House Lane side to house shops for auto repair, metal, print, wood-working and drafting (photo). In 1950 a cafeteria/library wing (photo) designed by the Philadelphia firm of Savory, Scheetz and Gilmour was added near Pennypacker athletic field. That same year the 18-acre (73,000 m2) General Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold athletic fields opened on land located directly across Montgomery Ave. By 1957, the enrollment had grown to 1,663 students and the time had come to build a second high school (Harriton) in Lower Merion Township. The original 1910 building was demolished in 1963 and replaced by an air-conditioned classroom structure designed by H.A. Kuljian and Co.

Due to enrollment increases and to accommodate changing program needs, the District frequently reconfigured spaces in the facility, including the re-opening of classroom and storage space in the former Ardmore Junior High School in the 1990s. (Most of the junior high school had been demolished in 1992 to make way for additional parking). The rooms in the technical building were converted for other uses, including art classes, computer labs and the school's television studio. Original classrooms were re-purposed as spaces for individualized learning support and students with special needs. The central lobby that connected the 1963 and 1932 structures was converted to a college-style help center in 2004.

In 2004, a community advisory committee determined that existing facilities no longer met the standards of the Lower Merion community and recommended that a new school configured for 21st century education be constructed on the same site. The Board and administration authorized construction of a new school in 2007. Demolition of the "Ardmore Annex" along with the natatorium and one of the school's two gyms commenced in the summer of 2008 to make way for construction. The new Lower Merion High School opened in September 2010 and was dedicated during a public ceremony on October 17, 2010. In addition to state-of-the-art classrooms, science laboratories, art classrooms and music rehearsal spaces, the new Lower Merion features a lecture hall with tiered seating, a multi-purpose black box theater, an 850-seat auditorium/theater, a greenhouse for environmental and horticultural studies, high-performance athletic facilities, a swimming pool, a television studio, multi-media production facilities, a music technology lab, an expansive courtyard and a two-story, glass-encased library that serves as the building’s exterior focal point along Montgomery Avenue.

The school also features a planetarium on top of the old building. It was closed after it was declared a fire hazard. It was then temporarily transformed into a staff lounge room. However, the room is currently vacated.

The new school was constructed adjacent to the historic district administration office building (DAO), which is the only “original” structure that remains on the site. A number of measures were approved by the Lower Merion Historic Commission to ensure the school was designed to complement this Class I historic resource. The placement of the new building provides an unobstructed view of the DAO from Montgomery Avenue. The color and size of the masonry used in the new building is reflective of materials of the DAO. Vertical windows and metal spandrel panels echo elements of the DAO’s façade. The scale of the building is also sympathetic to the nearby residential neighborhood. The stone engraving of Ardmore Junior High School's motto, "Enter To Learn, Go Forth To Serve" remains on the front lawn of the high school property, facing Montgomery Avenue. (photo)