West Seattle ex-school site updates: Denny demo; Boren murals

Two notes this afternoon from sites that used to hold Seattle Public Schools middle/junior-high campuses:

That’s the northwest corner of the former Denny International Middle School site, where the last standing section of structure came down today. Lots of cleanup ahead now before the site will be transformed into fields and tennis courts; it will remain district-owned, as they have said a new elementary school might be built on the site someday. (If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s our report on a recent tour of the new Denny, nearby.) Meantime, at the former Louisa May Boren Junior High School along mid-Delridge:

Those are four of the volunteer-painted murals meant to deter vandals from tagging Boren’s boarded-up buildings. You’ll recall that they were completed in two recent work parties at Boren; Pete Spalding, who organized the work parties, shared the news that a district crew put them up this week. Besides the ones above, they are in other areas around the sizable campus, including the Delridge-facing courtyard. As of this writing, Boren will be empty again this school year; the district is keeping it for potential “emergency” use.

westside August 11, 2011 (11:01 pm)

The former Denny site is inspiring to those of us in the neighborhood. This huge area will have a softball field and tennis courts, but will also feature many community amenities like a playground and picnic benches. The district has promised that the site won’t be fenced and that there will be sensitive landscaping and a network of trails that will crisscross the site.

The school district deserves praise for listening to neighbors who lobbied them to improve their original design which wasn’t as sensitive to the neighborhood. This opens up the entire Sealth Sports Complex and the Southwest Community Center.