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Construction for Columbine High School began in 1971, and it opened
in the fall of 1973. It was one of 3 schools built by Jefferson
County using the same floorplan (this was done to save funds and
speed up construction). The other 2 were Green Mountain, and Pomona
Columbine was named after the area where it was built, the area was
named after Colorado's state flower -- The Columbine.
At the time Columbine was built, Jefferson County Schools used a
schedule called Consept 6 or Year-round school. There were three
'tracks' (A, B, C) each offset by 2 months, and kids were in school
for 4 months then off for 2. This also meant that only two thirds
of the kids were in school at a time. See the graphic below for an
idea of what the schedule looked like. (not that this is not exactly
the schedule...I did this from memory and that was a loooonng time
ago.
In the mid 80's Robert Clement donated his large piece of land next
to Columbine to Jefferson County under the condition that it would be
used for a park. This was transformed into what is now Clement Park
which opened in 1986
When Columbine was first built, it's library also served as the
public library for the area. This worked fine for a number of years,
because the schools were opened all year. But in 1987 Jefferson
County ended the Concept 6 schedule and went back to a more
traditional schedule. This of course meant many of the schools
were overcrowded and since the public Library was inside columbine,
that meant the school had to remain open even in the summer when
no students were around. Because of this, and the fact that the
Library needed more space, in 1989 a new separate Columbine Public
Library was opened in the nearby Clement park.
Then in 1994 / 95 Columbine underwent a major remodeling / addition.
during this construction, the School library was moved from its
original location in the center of the school, to the second floor of
new area built on the Southwest side of the school. The Cafeteria /
Commons area moved to the first floor directly below the new library.
The graphics below show the new addition.
We all know what happened in April of 1999...a tragedy 13 victims.
were killed, 23 injured.
Before this the worst crime (that I know of) committed at Columbine
was when a student burned a temporary building housing a classroom
in back of the school.
During the summer of 1999, a number of the rooms and halls in the
school had to be gutted an re-done. The library was also permanently
closed (a temporary one was set up in portable buildings outside)
In summer 2000 the old cafeteria/library was converted into a 2 story
atrium.
During the spring/summer of 2001 a new library was built as an
addition to the school
Columbine...now and foreveR
last updated 01 March 2002
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This page and the images on it (c) 1999 - 2006 James k
