Historic Commission’s rejection of old LVHS renovation not last word

Cathy Scott

Thursday, Sept. 3, 1998 | 10:50 a.m.

The architectural plans to add on to and remodel the old Las Vegas High School auditorium have been officially opposed by the Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission for not conforming with a downtown neighborhood.

But that won't stop the plans from moving forward: The architect and representatives of the Clark County School District say that, if approved by the City Council, construction can begin in November with completion expected by July.

Rob Steppke, supervisor of real property for the school district, said he plans to present the design first to the city's Planning Commission, then to the City Council. The school, built in 1931, has been home since 1993 to the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts. It opened as the first dedicated academic magnet school in the district. The additions include remodeling the interior and exterior of the auditorium to include a dance studio, band hall and theater.

Steppke emphasized that there is not time to go back to the drawing board because the school, with 1,300 students, is cramped. The additions will help ease the overcrowding, he said.

Bob Gerye, the school's principal, agreed. "We've grown dramatically and outgrown our space," he told board members during a special Historic Preservation Commission meeting to consider the plan Wednesday. "People once said, 'Who would want to go there?' Now they're beating down our doors."

Commission members said the reason they voted to oppose the plan was because it did not preserve the integrity of the school, built in 1931, or the neighborhood. The school's auditorium, at 9th Street and Clark Avenue, sits in a downtown neighborhood that is just one of two Las Vegas areas recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1991, the old Las Vegas High School District as a whole was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Because of the designation, board members emphasized that existing architecture -- including an English Tudor-style Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the street -- should be taken into consideration when drawing up plans for the neighborhood.

"I don't see the necessity to deviate from the style that exists," said commission member Hillary Green, who graduated from the high school in 1965 and said she had performed on the school's stage.

But David Pugsley, whose firm designed the additions, countered: "There are some significant and insignificant things with building going on architecturally in the area ... I didn't want to cheapen the structure."

He also noted that the buildings were designed to be "structurally independent of the original structures."

Commission member Colleen Beck pointed out that the Nevada State Historic Office was not consulted on the plans.

Pugsley emphasized that he was "comfortable with his firm's design, or I would not have done it. This is not a project we entered into lightly."

Steppke said afterward that the city's planning department had asked that the plans be reviewed by the commission, which is considered an advisory board to the Planning Commission.