Midnight in Issaquah

Frances Pope

Description

Providence Heights Campus in Issaquah, Washington, was designed in the 1950’s as state-of-the-art modern gothic architecture and completed by the Sisters of Providence in 1961.
The purpose of the campus was to give equal opportunity to women religious on an equal basis to the men of the Catholic Church. Providence Heights was only one of two for that purpose in the United States. Times were changing in the Catholic Church during the 1960’s and by 1969 the original purpose of Providence Heights as an educational opportunity for women became untenable. The campus was sold to Lutheran Bible Institute and eventually to The City Church.
In 2016 the property was listed as endangered by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.
Local and regional groups fought hard to preserve the campus. Preserve Providence Heights was the last. This is their story.

Sujets

• Histoire
• The Heights
• Frances
• Hope
• History
• Providence

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 29 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669863137
• Langue: English

Extrait

Midnight in Issaquah
The Struggle to Save Providence Heights
Frances Pope

Copyright © 2023 by Frances Pope.
 

Softcover
978-1-6698-6312-0

eBook
978-1-6698-6313-7
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rev. date: 01/26/2023
 
 
 
 
 
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
813066
CONTENTS
Preserving Providence Heights: Introduction
Providence Heights History
Efforts Mount to Save Providence Heights
New Efforts emerge from Providence Point Advocacy
Personal Memories of Providence Heights
Fran Pope Memories of Providence Heights
Ethel Crosser Memories of Providence Heights
 
Appendix
Endnotes
Bibliography
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Preserving Providence Heights: Introduction
Who are these crazy church window ladies? Who, or what, is Preserve Providence Heights?
In short, hundreds of people worldwide worked in so many ways over several years to preserve the physical and metaphysical spirit of the Providence Heights Campus in Issaquah, Washington. The organization, Preserve Providence Heights, hereafter referred to simply, as PPH formally became a not for profit in record time on Nov. 17, 2017 to continue the efforts of other groups such as Sammamish Heritage Society https://sammamishheritage.org , and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation https://preservewa.org
PPH board members were municipal planner and artist, Susan Hass; Christian minister, Elizabeth Maupin; garden enthusiast, Karen Lee; and librarian, musician, writer, Fran Pope. All of us were middle aged with various work and volunteer backgrounds. Ageism being what it is, we were ridiculed as “Those crazy church window ladies” by those in the community who wanted the campus destroyed for their own reasons. This included a vocal number of parents who wanted a new school to relieve the overcrowding that resulted from lack of foresight and finance parameters that restricted the ability of Issaquah School District 411 to appropriately respond to the demanding population growth.
There was the perception in the community and verified by District 411 that the campus had to be cleared so students would not be confronted with the religious iconography depicted in the world-class stained-glass windows and mosaics.
By the time PPH was formed the district had already claimed eminent domain due to non-payment of property taxes by the owner, The City Church, then renamed Churchome, had not used the property for religious purposes for many years and were therefore owing back real estate taxes.
https://www.churchome.org
PPH knew from the start that the odds of success were very small. The Seattle law firm, Bricklin & Newman LLP , we retained told us that up front. The main issue was the church’s claim to First Amendment blanket ability to use or dispose of the property as they saw fit. Our environmentally focused law firm would argue that the site had historical, ecological, and cultural significance. Their small firm was to face one of the top Seattle law firms, Davis Wright Tremaine, funded by ample church resources. We were on our own as two health compromised board members, candidate for ordained ministry, and a semi-retired substitute librarian.
A fellow minister who offered us meeting space noted that we were like his own grandmother; stubborn, resourceful, and very determined to do the right thing. At one of our meetings, Susan Hass was telling about her mother’s admonishment to her when she complained about something as a child. “Tough bunnies”, the mother said. From that moment forward we were the Tough Bunnies, holding warren meetings and burrowing as fast as we could to try to save our scared space.
The struggle to preserve Providence Heights, though the physical campus was demolished, continues in the spirit of preservation with this book. With plans for a work of art and an attempt to influence the Issaquah School District 411 to embrace the value of equal education for female students, we continue to preserve the spirit and memory of the campus. PPH.org will dissolve soon, but the friendship of these four determined women will last the rest of our lives. * As one last effort at preservation we used the remaining funds and a match to commission a work commemorating Providence Heights for cello and piano by local composer Angelique M. Poteat. This book is that story.
* Sadly, September 6,2021 the life of Karen Lee ended due to the pandemic.
Karen loved her pets and was an enthusiastic gardener. She served as president of Issaquah Garden Club, 2004-2007, and president of Avant Designers in East Lake Washington District, 2007-09. She won WSFGC Artistic Craft Award for her floral designs.
With a background in marketing and difficulty seeing, she advised WSFGC to use a larger font in its membership brochure. (From her obituary Winter Issue • Jan Feb Mar 2022 WSFGC Washington Garden & Design)
Her computer skills, determination, and friendship were invaluable to PPH
Providence Heights History
Providence Heights was built in 1961 by the Sisters of Providence as a four year college. Designed by the Mother Superior and Seattle architect John Maloney, it was the culmination of years of effort by the Catholic Church begun in the 1940’s to enhance the education of nuns.
Their mission statement in the Providence Heights Progress Report of 1960 reflects high aspirations of the college:
With the upheaval of two World Wars, the shrinking of the world by unheard of advances in communications and air travel, and the advent of the atomic age and missile warfare, the face of our civilization has changed to a startling degree, bringing about contemporary trends in the patterns of thinking and acting in all areas of society. Realizing this, the Church has called upon the Catholic sisterhoods to prepare themselves spiritually, intellectually, and professionally to meet the demands of our changing era and bring to those for whom they work the results of an education and professional preparation of the highest quality. Throughout the United States, the sisters answered this plea by formulating what is now known as the Sister Formation movement. This movement, to work toward a better education for sisters, has as its aim the finest type of spiritual, cultural, and professional preparation for every sister, whether teacher, nurse, or social worker. The Everett Curriculum is the outcome of a national workshop held in Everett, Washington in 1956, under the sponsorship of the Sister Formation Conferences. From the beginning, one of the objectives of the Sister Formation movement has been the sharing of the spiritual, and intellectual resources of the various religious communities. Providence Heights is a testament of this.
The Sisters, in the late 1800’s had established a group in Vancouver, a curriculum Review group. As work continued in the 1950’s, they were urged forward in a campaign for expanded educational expectations for teachers in Catholic schools by Sister Madelena Wolff of the Saint Mary’s University in South Bend, Indiana. The Sisters gathered in a national conference at the Sisters of Providence Hospital in Everett, Washington where they developed, in 1956, a course of study known as the Everett Curriculum. It was supported by Pope Pius XII in order to bring the education of women in the church on a par with that of men. The sisters raised the needed building funds and with the support of Seattle University designed the campus. According to the above progress report 286 individuals, families, archbishops, religious order members and even the Governor of Washington were among the supporters. Construction began in 1961.
To facilitate the educational goal, the design included dormitories housing 200 single rooms, classrooms, offices, a chemistry lab, swimming pool, gym, auto shop, fallout shelter and nature trails. It also included barbecue, three dining rooms, sports fields, set in 243 timbered acres all but twenty of which were left in their natural state. The campus was self-sufficient with its own power plant and water system.
Sister Ellen Elizabeth Kelly, SP focused on securing the most prominent artists for the college, among them Gabriel Loire, regarded as one of the world’s finest stained-glass artists. He also created the mosaic Stations of the Cross for the chapel.
The jewel of the campus was its neogothic modern chapel. Hand carved pews, a pipe organ 3 ranks, 195 pipes, 1 division, 2 manuals, 20 stops, 3 registers (present location and condition unknown) * https://pipeorgandatabase.org/organ/22460 , magnificent altar all bathed in the light from 14 floor to ceiling triangular “dale de verre” stained glass windows by world renowned artist Gabriel Loire. Seven windows depicted the Seven Sorrows of Mary; seven the corporal works of Mercy the work of the Sisters of Providence. Each window was made of 39 segments locked in a u-channel using gravity and a steel and aluminum frame for support. (As reported in Spring 2019 Vol 25 #3 of Providence Archives Newsletter: Past Forward p. 1,3).
Constructed of a relatively new process of steel reinforce poured concrete, the chapel exterior was finished with heavy copper roof and sides - a modernistic abstract image, to some, evoking a nun’s wimple.
But the attention to art and finest quality was not li