St. Louis University High School - Facilities

Facilities

Since the original building was completed in 1924, the campus has expanded several times. The first major addition was completed in 1944, when a new wing was added to the Jesuit residence. In 1945, a basement was excavated under the main building, which was used to create a recreation room. Using investment gains in the Backer Endowment Fund, the school completed a major expansion in 1956 which included locker rooms, music facilities and the Backer Gymnasium. This gym replaced the original gym in the main building, which became an auditorium. A new library, which was later named for long-time history teacher Dr. James Robinson, was completed in time for the start of the 1971 academic year.

In 1978 under the leadership of Fr. Thomas Cummings, S.J., the school began soliciting funds for the "Triple E" program (standing for "Education, Endowment, and Expansion"), which helped to remodel the interior of the school, build the endowment and erect an upper field, faculty parking lot and the current football stadium on the Oakland Avenue side of the school.

In 1992, the Jesuit community moved out of the front wing of the school due to the declining number of priests. The Jesuit Wing was then renovated creating new Theology and Fine Arts classrooms as well as new office space for the school administrators. Today the SLUH Jesuit community resides in two houses in the neighborhood adjacent to the school's campus.

1996 saw a major renovation of the interior of the original building, including new HVAC systems, electrical updates, energy-efficient windows and additional classrooms. Also completed in 1996 was a new Fine Arts complex which included the Joseph Schulte Theater, a dance studio and two new music classrooms. The theater was named for long-time SLUH drama teacher and St. Louis theatre figure F. Joseph Schulte. The Schulte Theater has 356 permanent seats, and the capacity is expandable to 610 when the additional 254 bleacher seats in the balcony-like loge section are utilized. The theater is often rented to outside groups to perform plays and other functions.

In 2001, the basement rec room was named the "Fr. Hagan Rec Room" to honor Martin Hagan, S.J., a retired priest who spent more than 40 years on the SLUH faculty and was a longtime supervisor of the recreation room and the rifle coach. The Fr. Hagan Rec Room includes over 20 billiard tables and also contains foosball, ping pong, bumper pool, and shuffle board. The Fr. Hagan Rec Room is a favorite hang out for students, especially freshmen. The SLUH Rifle Range is right next door to the Rec Room, and the Pettit Fitness Center and Weight Room is across the hall.