Thanks to our sister site My Green Lake for this story.
Update: RE Store has posted pictures from the salvage operation at McDonald School on their website.
Reader James Taylor, who works at The RE Store (1440 NW 52nd St), wrote to tell us that the non-profit building material salvage store is currently salvaging materials from McDonald Elementary School (114 NE 54th St).
McDonald Elementary School was closed in 1981. In 2009, Seattle Public Schools announced that the building would once again operate as an elementary school.
McDonald School opened in the fall of 2010 at a temporary location in the Lincoln High School building (4400 Interlake Ave N). The school will be moved to its permanent location on NE 54th St in the fall of 2012, following refurbishment work.
“The RE Store is removing everything from the slate blackboards to the clocks in the classrooms,” James says. ”This building seems almost untouched from when it was built in 1913 – altogether a true joy to work on even in the capacity of one who is effectively tearing things out.”
James says that he has been removing what he considers to be “near artifacts.” He hopes, he says, that some of the items will fall into the hands of people who have a personal connection to the school.
For more information about purchasing the salvaged material from the RE Store, contact James at jamest [at] re-store.org.
