WRITTEN BY PAUL DORPAT

COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY & INDUSTRY

That little has changed in its front façade facing Stevens Street in the 66 years covered in this week's comparison is heartening evidence that the forces of preservation were standing guard during the recent renovation of West Seattle High School.

	CLAY EALS

The answer will be revealed for those who continue (or jump) to the end of this feature on what — its graduates claim — is the high school with the largest alumni association in the country. There are about 18,000 with confirmed addresses, and many will be attending the All-School Reunion on Friday. A record turnout is expected because this is the first reunion since the school was reopened.

This week's comparison reveals that the two-year renovation of West Seattle High School under the supervision of architect Marilyn Brockman was also a restoration. Besides the landscaping, little is different between the 1937 scene and the "now" view that West Seattle historian Clay Eals photographed. The observant reader might notice that the cupola has changed. A 1983 fire burned a hole in the roof, and the original cupola went with it. The new cupola was built to the full size — 6 feet taller — described in the original architect Edgar Blair's blueprints but not followed in the first construction.

West Seattle High School opened in 1917 to about 400 students, most of whom were girls because many of the boys were either enlistees or working in the mobilization for America's entry into World War I.

The stories of the West Seattle Indians (this past April renamed the Wildcats) will continue to be told after Friday's reunion with cherished artifacts, ephemera and photographs in the new exhibit "Rich Traditions" just mounted at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society's Birthplace of Seattle Log House Museum. And that is SWSHSBSLHM for short. The address is 3003 61st Ave. S.W. Call 206-938-5293 for times.