Saturday there was an open house at the Citadel, Reading’s new Intermediate High School. It is located on the site that was formerly St. Joseph’s Hospital. Some of the original hospital buildings remain though they have undergone major renovations. The school has over 311,000 square feet of space and currently holds all of Reading’s 2500 ninth and tenth grade students.
The school was open for four hours with tours given randomly, mainly led by student tour guides. I, however, went with a friend who happens to be a school employee so I got a much more involved tour than most. I was able to wander around inside the classrooms that are supposedly haunted with spirits leftover from people who were sent to die in those rooms when it was the hospital, the former morgue which is now an employee break room, and the tower located behind what had been the hospital chapel. I also got to poke around in the areas that are still being set up. There was such a rush to get the school open by the beginning of the year that some of the spaces aren’t quite finished.
We spent a few minutes in the security center because it fascinated me. There are 15 monitors, 12 of which are divided into 16 squares, totaling 192 areas under constant surveillance. The other three monitor rotate areas, designated by the security guard according to what’s most important to see at the moment. Any of the 192 cameras can
be blown up to full screen size as needed. As I said, fascinating but a bit sad too that it’s necessary.
I attended a very small school, 600 total grades 6 through 12 so exploring a place that size was fun for me. Each hallway has a different color scheme as opposed to the institutional cream that my school had. I’m told no two classroom floors are identical. Even the lockers are color-coordinated with the floor and walls. Pretty cool though I suspect many of the students fail to notice.
It was perhaps an odd way to spend a Saturday morning but I’m glad I went.
The school was open for four hours with tours given randomly, mainly led by student tour guides. I, however, went with a friend who happens to be a school employee so I got a much more involved tour than most. I was able to wander around inside the classrooms that are supposedly haunted with spirits leftover from people who were sent to die in those rooms when it was the hospital, the former morgue which is now an employee break room, and the tower located behind what had been the hospital chapel. I also got to poke around in the areas that are still being set up. There was such a rush to get the school open by the beginning of the year that some of the spaces aren’t quite finished.
We spent a few minutes in the security center because it fascinated me. There are 15 monitors, 12 of which are divided into 16 squares, totaling 192 areas under constant surveillance. The other three monitor rotate areas, designated by the security guard according to what’s most important to see at the moment. Any of the 192 cameras can
be blown up to full screen size as needed. As I said, fascinating but a bit sad too that it’s necessary.I attended a very small school, 600 total grades 6 through 12 so exploring a place that size was fun for me. Each hallway has a different color scheme as opposed to the institutional cream that my school had. I’m told no two classroom floors are identical. Even the lockers are color-coordinated with the floor and walls. Pretty cool though I suspect many of the students fail to notice.
It was perhaps an odd way to spend a Saturday morning but I’m glad I went.
1 comment:
JUST TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT, AS A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF ST. JOES FOR 20 PLUS YEARS, THE MORGUE WAS TORN DOWN WITH THE RENOVATION.
THE EMPLOYEE LOUNGE USED TO BE THE
MAINTENANCE OFFICE. THE MORGUE USED TO BE WHERE THE GYM IS CURRENTLY LOCATED, AND THE CHAPEL IS YOUR MUSIC ROOM. THANK YOU!
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