10CN532 - PARMA HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS PRELIMINARY ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION AND CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION Overview 10CN532 is an evolved school campus occupying the block east of North 8th Street between East McConnell Avenue and Walker Road. The resource includes the current Parma High School and a group of educational, administrative, circulation, and athletic components developed in several phases. The 1988 reconnaissance form records a 1957 construction date, brick construction, educational use, and good integrity for Parma High School. Current photographs show later additions and separate or connected campus buildings whose dates have not all been confirmed. The campus organization remains legible through the placement of the academic buildings in the southern half of the block and the athletic grounds to the north. Panther Way and a network of parking areas, drives, walks, lawns, fenced courts, and field circulation routes connect the components. Differences in height, massing, brick and concrete masonry, metal panels, roof form, window pattern, and entrance treatment distinguish the construction phases and uses. Parma High School The current Parma High School is a chiefly one-story educational building with an irregular plan assembled from low classroom, commons, service, and assembly volumes. Exterior walls consist primarily of reddish brick and textured concrete masonry with contrasting blue metal fascias and trim. Roofs include shallow gabled and low-slope forms; some roof surfaces are concealed by fascias or parapets. Projecting and recessed entrances contain glazed metal doors and transoms beneath broad canopies. Grouped rectangular windows, glass-block panels, broad masonry wall planes, and changes in roof height articulate the elevations. Applied signs identify the Main Entry, Commons, and Parma High School. Bruce Mitchell Science and Technology Center The Bruce Mitchell Science and Technology Center is a one-story brick educational building composed of stepped rectangular volumes. A taller masonry block bearing the building name marks the principal portion. Lower wings have shallow metal roof forms, horizontal windows, masonry piers, and projecting entrance canopies. A glazed entrance occupies a recessed junction between the building volumes. Panther Library and Parma Middle School Panther Library and Parma Middle School consist chiefly of low, one-story brick and concrete-masonry wings organized around walks, lawns, and courtyards. Broad blue metal fascias and deep overhangs emphasize the horizontal massing. Grouped classroom windows, sheltered entrances, masonry piers, glazed doors, and covered passages connect the wings. Applied signs identify Panther Library, Parma Middle School, and “The Wow Wing.” Julian Laca Gymnasium Julian Laca Gymnasium is a tall, two-story brick gymnasium with a rectangular plan and a shallow curved roof. Its broad end wall, regular upper-story windows, simple brick elevations, and large enclosed volume express its gymnasium use. A lower entrance enclosure with light-colored panels spans part of the principal west elevation. Centered doors, a wall-mounted name sign, and paved walks mark the entrance. District Office, AG/VO Building, and Greenhouse The Parma School District Office is a low, one-story brick building with a simple rectangular massing, a shallow asymmetrical roof, limited windows, and an applied office sign. The AG/VO building combines brick shop and classroom volumes with metal-clad service portions, gabled and low roof forms, large glazed and overhead doors, paved work areas, and exterior mechanical equipment. A freestanding gabled greenhouse stands nearby. It has a metal frame, translucent wall and roof panels, operable ventilation equipment, doors, and a low foundation edge. Athletic Grounds The northern athletic grounds include Jessie Eddie Tennis Courts, the Panther Athletic Entrance, Bob Sloan Baseball facilities, a larger football stadium, a concession stand, a storage trailer, fencing, lighting, walks, tracks, playing fields, and support structures. The tennis courts have paved playing surfaces within chain-link fencing and include a dedication plaque. Bob Sloan Baseball includes the playing field, dugouts, a two-story metal-clad press box or scorer building, scoreboard, fences, and related circulation. The football stadium includes a track and playing field, metal grandstand and press box, goalposts, lighting, and paved access. The Panther Athletic Entrance is a low gatehouse-like building with brick and corrugated-metal walls, a broad cantilevered roof, and a central passage. The concession stand is a small, freestanding concrete-block building with a low rectangular plan and a distinctive raised, slightly curved roof edge. Its walls contain shuttered service openings and painted doors. Localized masonry weathering, peeling paint, and decayed wood at a door jamb document current condition concerns. A metal storage trailer or container with painted Panthers identification stands nearby. VISIBLE ALTERATIONS Visible changes include successive additions and connecting wings; replacement doors and windows; modified or infilled openings; applied metal fascias and wall panels; entrance canopies; accessibility improvements; updated paving and circulation; exterior signs; surface-mounted mechanical, electrical, and communications equipment; and newer athletic buildings and support features. The 1988 photographs show an earlier high-school exterior configuration and provide evidence for later changes. Dates and designers for many additions remain unconfirmed. CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES Whole campus - Continued educational use and legibility as an integrated school campus - South-to-north organization of academic buildings and athletic grounds - Multiple construction phases expressed through changes in massing, height, masonry, windows, roofs, and entrances - Network of Panther Way, drives, parking areas, walks, lawns, courtyards, fences, courts, tracks, and playing fields - Spatial relationships among the high school, science center, library, middle school, gymnasium, district office, vocational facilities, and athletic resources Parma High School and academic buildings - Low, chiefly one-story horizontal massing - Irregular plans formed by connected classroom, commons, service, and assembly volumes - Reddish brick and textured concrete-masonry walls - Blue metal fascias, trim, and entrance canopies - Shallow gabled and low-slope roof forms - Recessed and projecting entrances with glazed metal doors and transoms - Grouped rectangular windows and glass-block panels - Broad masonry wall planes and stepped roof heights - Applied building and entrance identification - Covered passages, courtyards, and sheltered circulation between wings Julian Laca Gymnasium - Tall two-story rectangular gymnasium volume - Shallow curved roof and broad end-wall profile - Brick exterior walls and regular upper-story windows - Lower paneled entrance enclosure on the west elevation - Centered principal entrance and name sign - Continued visual expression of a large interior assembly space District, vocational, and greenhouse components - Low brick massing and asymmetrical roof of the district office - Combined classroom, shop, and service massing of the AG/VO building - Brick and metal exterior materials - Large service and overhead-door openings - Paved work yards and exterior mechanical equipment - Freestanding metal-framed greenhouse with translucent panels and gabled roof Athletic grounds - Open-field setting north of the academic buildings - Fenced tennis courts and named dedication plaque - Bob Sloan Baseball field, dugouts, scorer or press-box building, scoreboard, and fencing - Football field, track, metal grandstand, press box, goalposts, and lighting - Panther Athletic Entrance with broad cantilevered roof and central passage - Concession stand with small concrete-block massing, service shutters, and distinctive raised curved roof edge - Storage trailer, walks, field circulation, and support infrastructure SOURCE AND INTERPRETIVE NOTES - The 1988 reconnaissance form identifies Parma High School, 1105 East McConnell Avenue, brick construction, a 1957 date, and educational use. - The current ICRIS record lists overall and individual eligibility as unevaluated. - Dates, architects, builders, and contributing status for later components remain to be confirmed. - This description distinguishes known facts from observations made from current exterior photographs. - Condition does not by itself determine historic integrity or National Register eligibility.