Lewis and Clark High School

South Central High School, 1909

Central School, a two-story wooden building, was the first school located on the southwest block at Fourth and Stevens. A four-room school, it opened 137 years ago in October 1883. In 1890, citizens voted bonds to build a new high school and four elementary schools. The old Central school building was moved to the corner of Fifth and Bernard and became a private school. The new high school, first known as "Spokane High School," was constructed on the Fourth and Stevens site and opened in 1891. By 1906, the influx of immigrants and subsequent boom in Spokane's population created a need for a second high school. North Central High School was built and opened in 1908 to serve the students on the north side the river. Spokane High School became known as South Central High School.[2]

Fire destroyed South Central High School in 1910, shortly after sunrise on June 21.[3] The blaze destroyed the interior of the school but left the remains of the exterior walls standing. In January 1911, citizens passed a bond issue of $500,000 to pay for replacement of the school. Students attended classes at North Central while work progressed on the new school.[4] Problems in construction and strikes by workers delayed the opening until April 1912. Meanwhile, the Spokane Daily Chronicle encouraged readers to enter a contest to suggest names for the new high school. Richard Hargreaves, the principal of North Central, suggested the names of Lewis and Clark, using one name for each high school, North and South Central. The school board settled for naming the south side school Lewis and Clark.[2]

2001 classroom addition and new skybridge to the field house. Historic entry to the former administration building is in the foreground. View is looking southeast with S. Stevens Street visible.

Between 1999 and 2001 the school underwent a major renovation and addition. This included addition of new classrooms to the east side of the school, replacement of the former field house with a new E. L. Hunter Field House, and a skybridge over S. Stevens Street to the east to connect the school building to the new field house.[5]

2001 E.L. Hunter Field House to the east of the historic school building just visible at right. The view is looking southwest.

In 2001, the school was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places and The Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Places.[6]

As of October 2007, 49% of the population was male and 51% of the population was female. White students have the biggest ethnic representation at 80.4% with African American follow at 6.2%, Asian/Pacific Islander at 3.0%, Hispanic at 3.0%, Asian at 2.6%, American Indian/Alaskan Native at 2.2%, and Pacific Islander at 0.4%. As of October 2007, 26.2% of students received free or reduced-priced meals, 8.0% were a part of the special education program, and 2.8% in transitional bilingualism. The 2006–2007 school year saw a dropout rate of 5.0%, an on-time graduation rate of 80%, and extended graduation rate of 84.4%.[7]

• Newsweek Magazine named Lewis and Clark High School one of the top 1500 US High Schools in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005.
• Sports Illustrated named Lewis and Clark High School one of the top 25 high school sports programs in the nation, ranking it 12th in 2007–08.[8]

• Ed Bouchee – former MLB player (Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets)[9]
• Ed Brandt – former MLB player (Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Abe Cohn - former football player for the University of Michigan
• Erik Coleman – former National Football League player[9]
• Bill Etter – quarterback at the University of Notre Dame, and CFL player.[9]
• Neil Everett (Morfitt) – sportscaster for ESPN[9]
• Gail Cogdill - Former All-American, Pro-Bowl NFL Tight End, Detroit Lions
• Briann January – WNBA basketball player with Indiana Fever[9]
• Carolyn Kizer – poet and Pulitzer Prize winner in 1985; studied with Joseph Campbell[9]
• Tom Kundig – architect
• Dan Lynch – former All-America college football player[9]
• Patrice Munsel – former opera singer and star with the Metropolitan Opera[9]
• Craig T. Nelson – actor, Coach, Parenthood[9]
• Scott O'Grady – former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, famous for the Mrkonjić Grad incident[9]
• Carol Ohmart – actress and model
• Matt Piedmont – Emmy winning writer, producer, director, and former Saturday Night Live staff writer
• Jamie Redman – US National Rowing Team[9]
• Katelan Redmon – WNBA basketball player with New York Liberty[10]
• Dario Romero – former CFL player[9]
• Irwin Rose – Nobel Prize winner in chemistry in 2004.[11]
• Eva Silverstein – physicist [12]
• Tom Sneva – former race car driver, Indianapolis 500 winner in 1983.[13]
• Jon Snyder – member of Spokane City Council and founder of Out There Monthly Magazine.
• Jack Spring – former MLB player (Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians)[9]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lewis and Clark High School (Spokane, Washington).

• Official website
• National Register of Historic Places registration form 2001