Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-04-17
HEARTILY PRAISES
WORK OF ITTNER
Principal of Central High
School, Washington. Strongly
Endorses Architect

lttner, or st. Louis, selected by the
special committee of the School Board
to design Harrisburg's new buildings,
is given by Principal Emory NJ. Will
son, of the Central High School. wash
ington, d. c., in n letter to J. Horace
Mcfarland, secretary of the Municipa:
League.
The letter follows:
II am told that the City of Harris
burg is planning to spend over mill
lion and quarter on new schoolhouses
and that Mr.. William b. Ittner. of
st. Louis, is being considered as the
architect for the proposed work.
I'VE have just come into new
High school, costing with the land a
million and five hundred thousand dol
lars, Of which Mr.. lttner is the archi-
tect. You can imagine that we ala
not select Mr.. Ittner for this work
without looking pretty carefully into
the work that he had done and INTO
his general reputation for straighttor-
ward. businesslike methods. We have
a building which is the admiration of
everyone who has seen it, and l am
glad to testify personally that in the
actual administration of the sChool IL
is proving itself an entirely workable
plant. We are able to teach school in
il which, after all, is the purpose Tor
which it was constructed.
1t is a great pleasure for me to
commend Mr.. Ittners work. My per-
sonal opinion, perhaps. is worth little
when / say l consider him the tore-
most schoolhouse architect in Amer
lea. but after three years of constant
work with him, perhaps, 1t may mean
something for me to tell you that l
consider him a high-class gentleman,
absolutely straightforward, and bust
nesslike in all of his dealings. 1t
seems almost unnecessary for me TO
say that in the specifications of ma
terial and in passing on the adequacy
of the work furnished, Mr.. lttner gave
no undue consideration whatever 10
the firms that were supplying the ma
terial but was the jealous guardian
of the interests of the city which was
employing him.
IF the city of Harrisburg is for
tunate enough to secure his services,
il will get, in my Judgment, not only
the leading expert in his line but viii
have delivered exactly what 1t pays
for.
EMORY NJ. WILSON
This Central high school opened a
new world of educational posi- blllty
to me. l did not know that any COM
munity had gone so far in taking
care of the production of good cltl-
Zens at the same time that boys We're
being educated j. Horace McFar-
land, secretary of the Municipal
League, enthusiastically stated on his
return from Washington, where ne
carefully inspected one of the most
recent of William B. timers build
ings.
Mr.. Ittner has been selected by the
special committee of the School Board
to design Harrisbdrg's new high
schools.
"A stiff proposition was put up to
the architect by the Congressional
committee which controls the Wash
ington school expenditures" Mr.. Nc
Farland said. They gave him plot
of ground, situated on hillside. with
n slope sleeper than that of Market
street between Cameron and Thtr-
teenth. ell has adapted the finished
building to this ground in the most
astonishing fashion, showing knowl-
edge, ingenuity, experience and re-
sourcefulness in a marked way.
Fitted For Practical Life
"The special educational facilities
fitting boys and girls for practical
everyday life are notably present in
this Central high school There is a
molding for teaching iron foun-
ufN InOlulIlB "HlCh Is COHlpltlc anu
extensive. There are several metal
working rooms. The woodworking
shops are also well equipped with
machinery and demonstration facili-
ties. A night school is being conduct
ed which takes advantage of the fine
little print shop. Mechanical drawing
is taught in several large rooms, one
of which includes a modern blue,
printing machine. The physical and
chemical laboratories seem without
end, and are also completely equip
ped. The typewriting rooms include
thirty-siX different makes of type
writer's, so that all possible advan-
tages are offered. Banking is taught
and a savings bank is conducted in
the school.
Girls Have Equal Opportunities
The girls are by no means neglect
ed in this great building. They have
all the opportunities the boys have,
and in addition domestic science is
elaborately provided for.
There are two gymnasia, one for
girls and one for boys. Each has
room nearly as large as the audi
torium of the Central high school in
Harrisburg. Attached to each is a
rest room, with shower baths and
seats, and the adaptation of these
shower baths shows the knowledge
and ingenuity of the architect.
There is a swimming pool eighty
feet long, provided with water heat
ed to a definite temperature and ac-
cessible under a we'll worked out ar
rangement on certain days to the
boys and on other days to the girls,
the privileges being equal.
The Central high school considers
the teachers as worth looking after,
and there are delightful rest and re-
tiring rooms for the teachers, in con-
sequence.
when you think of a high school
you hardly expect to find in it q run
ming track; yet there is a 140-yard
indoor running track on one of the
shelves facing the hillside.
Nearby is complete armory, and
the Central high school of Washing
ton has now seven organized COM
panies in which the boys are getting
the advance training that is so tre-
mendously important for American
youth. l have had to come to the
conclusion that to prevent the pro-
vision of equivalent facilities for Har-
risburg to those found in Washington
by failing to use the same architec-
tural advice, would be nothing short
of a crime committed against the
young people of this city.
For fifteen years we have wanted
and have obtained the best for our
money. We can get it now in school
facilities If we go after it in the fash
ion we have gone after water filtra-
ton, park design, street paving, sewer
improvement, and the like"
DE- D. GXY