School building gets 5 face-lifts over the years

Megan Kawa

Students, teachers, books, classes.  What else does a school need?  Umm…how about a building!? 

When the school first opened in 1955, the cafeteria was located in room 103, and the entire school was located on the south side of the current main office.

Between 1965 and 2002, the school has added a cafeteria, two gyms, science labs, a college center, weight room, library, and student center. All were possible through generous donations, as the 1997 renovations alone cost $7 million.

There have been five different phases throughout Marian’s building history. Our current cafeteria was opened in 1965, while in 1977, the West Gym was finished, in 1997, the East Gym, locker rooms, and student center were completed and in 2001, the new science labs (rooms 100 and 101), current library, and College Center were opened. Finally, in 2002, the last phase of the previous project, the new weight room opened.

Currently, there is, “a study on a fine arts center,” said Miller. 

“We did the study because there has been a need for a highlight for Marian arts for a long time,” said Latin teacher, Mr. Al DiMauro. “We found that we need specialized rooms and more classes to highlight the talented girls at Marian.”

Sophomore Donna Anderson said, “I would love it [a fine arts center] because that’s all I do. I don’t play sports and I’m not a genius.”

Miller said, “We need to update the heating and cooling systems.”

The next phase of Marian’s changes will involve both these systems and the fine arts building.