Historical May 1984 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
To celebrate its 10th birthday, Childgrove School is wrapping its pyramid in shades of purple and pink, and lighting a neon sculpture on top.
The school building is the former Anchor Temple in University City just west of the City Hall.
It was designed for the Masonic order in the popular Egyptian Revival style by St. Louis architect Tom Barnett in 1925 at the time King Tut’s tomb was opened. Polychrome lotus capitals and the pyramidal roof, as well as numerous interior details, attest to its architectural origins.
The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Childgrove students from three to twelve years old will paint 500 yards of four-foot-wide fabric which will drape and wrap three complete sides, flowing from the top, of the pyramid. Students also are creating large papier mache pyramids to carry in a parade down Delmar Blvd. to inaugurate the May 20 festivities at 2 p.m.
At the building, puppet shows, singing, and gymnastic displays by Childgrove students will occur during the afternoon, in addition to original skits in front of the new Totem Pole painted in conjunction with the oldest classroom’s study of Alaska. Conceived as a permanent memento of Childgrove’s 10th year, architect and parent Paul Cameron has designed a playground structure that echoes the building’s roof shape, called the Ziggurat.
This structure out of redwood timbers and cedar is being constructed by Crossroads School students and will be dedicated that day. Lighting the commissioned neon sculpture at dusk will close the day’s celebratory events. Chairperson of the birthday celebration is Peggy Dyer, a Childgrove Board member and product manager for Ralston Purina.
She has worked since December with a group of Childgrove parents, teachers, and other board members to prepare the birthday party. Art specialists Carol Eder and Melisse Reichman have measured, planned, and organized the wrapping of the pyramid, and are coordinating all the children’s art activities leading up to May 20.
Originally published in The Paper, May 1984.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Architectural and National Register claims retained as the school’s contemporary account, not independently verified.
Original source: SD_Times1984_05.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
