FORGOTTEN BELLWOOD: The Basement
Tim Mercer takes us on a tour of the basement in the first edition of Forgotten Bellwood.
EDITOR’S NOTE This is the first in a new series covering the history of the Bellwood-Antis School District from a historical and architectural perspective. The goal is to locate and explore the areas of the school buildings that no longer exist or exist in a form much different than when they were first designed. We also plan to look at some of the historical places in our district with interesting backstories.
For the first installment, we headed to the basement.
Many students walk the halls of the high school everyday or zip past the bus port entrance without realizing just what lies beneath them. That’s because several renovation projects have turned the basement of the school – once a space for classrooms and even a cafeteria – into a simple storage area, where now teacher requisitions like extra paper and pens are stored. Most students may not even know this area exists because access is restricted – the only steps down to the basement are inside the custodial office.
In our first episode of Forgotten Bellwood, we take a tour with school security guard Tim Mercer, a 1984 B-A grad, to find out what’s going on downstairs, and what used to happen beneath the floors of Bellwood-Antis High.
Nicole Gampe • Dec 13, 2018 at 1:46 pm
I believe in 1989 or 1990 was the last time the I had class in the band/chorus room, I was in 7th or 8th grade. I loved that room! Mr. Bower (chorus) and Mr. Rumbarger (band) were the directors. I honestly thought it was lost when they built the current building. So many memories, I cannot wait to watch the next episode! Great work BA BluePrint!