The historic Sisters High School (also known as the Old Sisters High School and the Sisters Public Schools Administration Building) was built in 1939 as a public secondary school for the community of Sisters in central Oregon. It was constructed using United States Federal Government funds provided through the Public Works Administration. The old Sisters High School was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Today, the facility has been converted into an administration building for the local school district.
History
The old Sisters High School is located in Sisters, a small community in Deschutes County, Oregon. The high school building has been an important landmark in the community since the 1930s. It replaced a school house built in 1912 that was used for all classes from first grade through high school.
The Sisters School District purchased property for the high school in 1938. The land was bought from the Oregon and Western Colonization Company, which owned unused right-of-way along U.S. Route 20. The lot acquired for the high school is a triangular parcel of land on the southeast side of Sisters. It is bordered by Locust Street on the east and Cascade Avenue on the north with Route 20 running diagonally along the southwest side of the property.
The high school was built in 1939 as a Public Works Administration project, one of many public schools funded by the United States Federal Government during the Great Depression. It was financed with a Public Works Administration grant of $8,550 along with $14,000 in bonds issued by the Sisters School District. The high school's architectural style is colonial revival, a common design type for public schools constructed during the 1930s. The building was designed by John E. Isted, an architect from Bend, Oregon. The construction contract was won by O. C. Hart of Redmond, Oregon with a bid of $22,138. Hart began work on the building in late December 1938. The structure was completed in May 1939. It was furnished over the summer so it was ready to host classes in September 1939. The high school was officially opened on 6 September 1939 with 20 students enrolled.
The high school served the Sisters community until the 1960s, when the local tax base could no longer support an independent high school. In 1969, the Sisters School District closed the high school. Its 65 students were transferred to Redmond High School, approximately away. In 1973, a proposed bond measure to finance a new high school was defeated by voters, leaving approximately 60 high school students from Sisters to attend school in Redmond.
After several decades of growth, the town of Sisters was able to financially support its own high school again. However, the old high school building was inadequate for the community's educational needs. As a result, the school district built a new high school which opened in 1992. In 2003, a newer high school was built and the facility built in 1992 was converting into a junior high school. The newest Sisters High School is located on the west side of town.
In 2005, the historic high school underwent a major renovation. The local school board financed the project by selling excess school district property. The renovation included preservation of wood paneling, school lockers, and drinking fountains as well as restoration of window frames and other exterior features. The project also converted the building into an administration office for the Sisters School District, keeping the historic character of the building while giving it a new economically viable purpose.
The renovation project was very successful in restoring and modernizing the structure of the building while maintaining its original character. Because of the building's importance to the Sisters community and its association with the Public Works Administration and the New Deal, the old Sisters High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Structure
The exterior is a traditional colonial revival style façade. The building is one story high with a partial basement for utilities and storage. It has a rectangular footprint measuring east–west and north–south. The perimeter foundation is made of steel reinforced concrete. The structural walls are a steel-reinforced wooden frame with a textured red brick veneer exterior. This combination makes the structure extremely solid.