Whatever deficiencies existed at the South Junior High School building that is being replaced, there apparently was no lack of student creativity.

Although the school’s design was considered innovative when it was built, its windowless rooms and curving hallways, along with the asbestos materials that were part of its construction, didn’t stand the test of time.

The same can’t be said about the student artwork that was painted directly on the school’s walls. Judging by the few samples displayed in Tuesday’s Journal-World, it will be well worth the effort to try to preserve the work of these talented young artists for future generations.

The existing South building is slated for demolition next year, but before that happens, an art teacher is working to photograph all the murals that adorn the walls. It hasn’t been decided exactly how the photos might be used, but one possibility is to reproduce them and hang them in the new school.

Preserving the photos would be a great way to carry a South tradition over to the new building. Who knows, it might even be a tradition that future South students can build on by creating murals of their own.