In the spring of 1965 an earthquake that registered 6. 7 on the Richter scale hit Western Washington. The old Monroe High School building was determined to be unsafe after the quake and was torn down. During the two years while the new school was being built, high school classes were held in the annexes at the old high school site and at what was originally Monroe Junior High School on W. Main Street'which has been everything from an elementary school to a high school over the years. The stage of the Wagner Memorial Auditorium-now called the Wagner Performing Arts Center-was used as the high school library which is shown here with Margaret "PeggyGÇ¥ Young, the librarian.
The view is looking west with the auditorium's back wall on the right and the loft with the ropes, bar and counterweights for the stage flies visible behind Young. During this time, the high school produced a very well received production of "OklahomaGÇ¥ on that same stage, which required moving most of the library offstage for the rehearsals and productions, then moving it back each day. The auditorium seated 709 at that time, and the four performances were sold out.
The auditorium also doubled as the study hall during this time. The lights were lowered, and special table tops were designed to fit over the auditorium seats with a hole drilled into each arm rest of the aisle seats. Hazel Bosch oversaw the study hall from a platform raised from the orchestra pit. High school graduation ceremonies were also held in the auditorium at this time. Monroe Monitor photo by Howard W. Voland. Written on the back of the photo is "Cramped and UnsightlyGÇ¥'probably part of the newspaper cutline.
Monroe Historical Society Photo 545. If you know more about this picture, please contact the Monroe Historical Society at (360) 217-7223.
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