Centennial alumni were encouraged to sign their name and graduation year on a memory board titled "The Legacy Lives On…" Photo by Holly Ward.
By Holly Ward
Centennial High School opened its doors for the community to walk through the current building one last time together before getting demolished by the end of June.
On Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the 50-year-old building on Mountview Drive saw hundreds of visitors, many of which were alums from the school. The current Centennial opened in 1973, though it is the fourth building for the Centennial name, whose school started in 1876.
Tours for the event included visiting the building’s museum, JROTC room, gymnasium, pool, auditorium, planetarium and art room. Visitors also were encouraged to stop and look at the wall displaying the previous principals’ photos.
The new building will not have a planetarium or pool, so community members were able to experience seeing those unique features during the open house.
“This is a wonderful time for people to gather and remember their school together. It’s fabulous,” said Sandy Hansen, a member of the Centennial Foundation. While she did not graduate from Centennial herself, her brother was a Bulldog, class of 1967, and her sister was a part of the class of 1974, who was the first to graduate from the current building.
The commons area was a gathering place for alums and guests to visit each other and recount memories from their time as Centennial Bulldogs. Along with the free admissions, Centennial’s Foundation offered complimentary refreshments and cupcakes topped with the school’s colors, red and white, icing.
The school’s inflatable mascot, Biscuit, towered over visitors and was the center of attention in the commons while people took pictures. Alums gathered to sign a memory board with their name and graduation years.
There were tables of old trophies from years ago that were available for alums to take home, as there will not be room for them in the new school’s trophy cases.
Though many artifacts, including state championship trophies and the Athletic Hall of Fame, will be moved to the new building this upcoming fall, many alums find it hard to say goodbye to the hallways they walked through.
“I think it’s sad. I’m just going to miss it,” said Kevin Taylor, a graduate from the class of 1997. Taylor traveled back to Pueblo for Saturday’s event to see the school he attended one last time.
The fifth building for Centennial is in its final stages of construction, which began in May of 2021. The new building rests right next to the current structure. After the existing building is leveled, the new athletic fields will be built.
Scheduled to be built on the current school’s site will be a new student parking lot, a brand-new softball and baseball facility, and a soccer-only field to be used for games as it will have a scoreboard.
According to Centennial’s athletic director, the new baseball and softball fields will also be equipped with scoreboards and can host games if necessary.