For Karen Megerdichian, the open house last night at the newly renovated Whittemore Elementary School was a trip down memory lane.
"I have to say walking through here I've listened to some excited young voices," Megerdichian said. "They've done a beautiful job."
She attended Whittemore in early '60s and thought it would be interesting to see the changes.
"Different classrooms look familiar. I remember it being a really great school at the time," she said. "Walking through the library I remember it was a cafeteria and auditorium. We did some concerts in there."
Last night, parents, students and city officials walked the halls of the 30 Parmenter Road building, marveling at its open brick hallways and large windows.
A new gymnasium boasted an electric scoreboard, rock climbing wall and large overhead ceiling fans.
In the new library, once the school's cafeteria, unplugged Dell computers took up space with bookshelves waiting to be filled. Library teacher Mary Kenslea stood inside greeting parents.
"It's just a really big beautiful space," she said. "People are loving it."
Lisa Hutching's daughter Melissa will attend fourth-grade at the school this year.
Last year, Whittemore students like Melissa were temporarily housed in the old South Middle School on Moody Street, awaiting completion of the $25 million in renovations.
"It's beautiful. It's clean compared to what South Middle was. Everything looks new. It's much bigger. It's closer to my house," she said. "It's going to be a better school. They have a playground here. They didn't have a playground at the other school."
Mayor Jeannette McCarthy wandered the halls, popping into classrooms and talking to parents and teachers.
"What I like about this is it's the combination of the old and the new," she said. "The classrooms are massive. It's very spacious."
New Principal Deborah Butts said she felt as if she'd been "dropped into heaven."
Much of the original woodwork and exterior concrete details of the building has been restored. A new addition houses a gymnasium, cafeteria, music room, art room, classrooms and administrative offices. The school also features a new media center and computer laboratory.
The $25 million total covered the cost of demolishing an old wing of the building, site preparation, furniture, equipment, computers, and work done by architects and a construction crew.
The school is rated for 516 students and is expected to open next week with 300 to 350 students.
Whittemore is the eighth and final public school the city has worked to renovate or replace since 2001.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com.
