6 Apr 2006
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts auditorium to be demolished
DALLAS– The Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts auditorium has been set for demolition Thursday, April 6, at 4:30 p.m.
An informal gathering of students and faculty will be present to witness as the Leach Auditorium is torn down to make way for a new facility.
In September 2001, the Dallas Independent School District and Arts Magnet Advisory Committee announced the results of a national competition to select an architect to develop plans for renovation and expansion of the school. Allied Works Architecture, of Portland, Oregon, won the competition. The proposed new campus will increase from 130,000 to approximately 185,000 square feet, housing 800 students and 84 faculty members. Plans include classrooms designed to meet curriculum needs, as well as performance spaces and visual arts facilities, many of which could be used by other community organizations.
Since January 2006, the school has been temporarily relocated to Nolan Estes Plaza in Oak Cliff while the new building is being constructed on the original Arts District site.