Edmonds Center for the Arts is closed to the public July 1-July 5. Our box office will not be open this week, but tickets for our upcoming shows can still be purchased online.
The original Edmonds High School campus has undergone several incarnations over its history, serving as a high school, junior high and college. After completing an $18 million dollar, one year renovation project, Edmonds Center for the Arts opened its doors to the public in 2006.
1909 : Construction begins on Edmonds’ first high school. James Stephen, the Seattle School District’s official architect, designs the two-story brick building in the classical-revival style. Built for $30,000 through a voter-approved bond issue, it stands alone on a 2-acre knoll overlooking Puget Sound.
1910 : Three seniors make up the school’s first graduating class. The commencement ceremony is held in the nearly finished building.
1939 : A federal grant of $112,500 helps build an art-moderne addition of cast concrete. The $250,000 project, which includes an auditorium and gym, requires ripping out much of the southern wing added in 1921.
1957 : A new Edmonds High School open at Holmes Corner, and the old school becomes the city’s junior high.
1961 : A gymnasium building is added on the property’s northwest corner, obscuring views of the old school from the street.
1975 : The Edmonds School District closes the school.
1977 : The school district sells the property to Puget Sound Christian College.
1986 : The school complex is listed on the Washington Heritage Register.
2001 : Puget Sound Christian College departs from the property. The Edmonds City Council creates the Public Facilities District (PFD) to study development of a regional arts center. The 1939 auditorium of the original Edmonds High School facility is selected for the center.
2002 : The PFD buys the school site, and the district’s board of directors approves a plan that includes demolishing the 1909, 1921 and 1961 structures to create room for parking.
2005 : Groundbreaking is celebrated for the future Edmonds Center for the Arts and demolition begins.
December 18, 2006 : Edmonds Center for the Arts presents its first performance, Tingstad and Rumbel.
