This interpretive board is outside Brodniak Hall and memorializes the Columbian School which until 1965 stood on the north end of where the high school now stands. The old Columbian School was a magnificent example of Romanesque Revival architecture before it was demolished in 1965. This panel stands next to the bell that once hung in the old school's bell tower.
This new project, which seeks to raise awareness of our City’s rich history and cultural heritage, is being spearheaded by the Anacortes Preservation Board in partnership with the Anacortes Museum and Maritime Center.
Using historic photos from the Wallie Funk collection and other resources from the Museum’s archives, the panels depict old Anacortes and provide residents and visitors alike with information about our community’s past.
The first 5 panels will be installed by the Parks Department and the Anacortes School District. One was placed placed at the top of Cap Sante, showing a panoramic view of the wood-processing industries that encircled Fidalgo Bay 100 years ago. Another goes next to The Depot with a circa 1915 photo that features an old steam locomotive pulling into the station. The Depot is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and in the Anacortes Register. A third was installed along the Tommy Thompson Trail with photos of several now-demolished mills and factories. A fourth will go along the newly built portion of the Guemes Trail depicting Ship Harbor canneries from about 1900.
Funding for the panels comes from Apex Warehouse demolition mitigation money set aside by Skagit County under the auspices of the Washington State Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation. The Preservation Board was given the responsibility for developing a project that raised public interest in preservation.