Carla Clark | For The Republic Eric Heyob, from left, Eric Studley, Chris Smith, principal, Owen Studley, Amy Mocas, assistant principal, Sophia Eaton, Jodi Engelstad, and Tyler Eaton, during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the completion of a two-year renovation to the facilities and classrooms at Parkside Elementary School, Columbus, Ind., Monday, August 5, 2024.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Landmark Columbus Foundation will have a presentation on Parkside Elementary School at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Columbus Visitors Center in downtown Columbus.
The foundation has been documenting and researching the history of Columbus schools with Glenda Winders, a Columbus-based writer and Hadley Fruits, a photographer who has been documenting the art, architecture and design of this area for 15 years.
The presentation is free. Parkside opened in 1962 and was initially designed by Norman Fletcher of The Architect’s Collaborative. CSO completed a major interior renovation this year.
The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) recently released renderings showing a planned addition to L. Francis Smith Elementary, which will fill in the courtyard of this iconic school. Smith opened in 1969 and was designed by John Johanson. Work on the addition is expected to begin soon and is being done by CSO, whose corporate offices are located on the north side of Indianapolis.
BCSC also released a progress update from Howler + Yoon, the Boston-based architecture firm that won the competition to design the new elementary school on the county’s west side, with support from The Cummins Foundation Architecture Program. The new school’s design harmoniously blends with the surrounding trees, offering students views of the wooded outdoors.
Glenda is documenting Howler + Yoon’s work as it continues in real-time. Her next presentation will be about Smith Elementary.
