photo by: Dylan Lysen/Lawrence Journal-World

Andrew Phalen, center, an LHS senior and co-student body president, provides a tour of the renovated high school to guests and alumni. The school district on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, celebrated the completion of a $46 million renovation of the historic school building with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

As the Lawrence school district celebrated the completion of a multi-year project to renovate Lawrence High School on Saturday, alumni who came back to see the historic building’s new look said it was an emotional experience.

Some of the alumni who spoke at Saturday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the end of the $46 million project said they were on the verge of tears. They said they remembered what it was like attending the school years ago and what it was like for their children or younger relatives to follow in their footsteps.

“This is a very special place to me and my family,” said LHS assistant principal Quentin Rials, who graduated from the school and had several family members attend the school from the 1960s to now. “I should stop before I start crying, but this is a fantastic place.”

The renovation project was a significant part of the $87 million bond issue Lawrence voters approved in 2017. Construction crews broke ground in 2019 and wrapped up the vast majority before school began in August.

Along with adding space for renovated classrooms and study areas, the project also provided a modern feel to the building by adding more natural light and open spaces, among other upgrades. An outdoor mural highlighting the school’s diversity and history gives a vibrant look to the building.

Dozens of alumni and community members toured the building on Saturday, remembering what the building looked like when they were students and taking in the new artwork and architecture throughout the building.

Andrew Phalen, an LHS senior and co-student body president, led alumni on tours of the building. He told the visitors that the coronavirus pandemic kept students from fully enjoying parts of the renovation in recent years, but when they all returned to fully in-person learning this fall, it began to feel like home again.

“I have really liked it,” Phalen said of the renovation. “Now that we’re all back in the building, teachers have put their posters up and the rooms are put together, the school feels like Lawrence High again.”

Linda Lawrence, a 1965 graduate and board member for the LHS Alumni Association, said she was happy to tour the building. She said she felt the renovation was necessary for the school district and she was proud of what she saw.

Although the building now looks completely different from when she attended, she said the school would always be home, because it would always be Lawrence High School.

“I’ve lived in Lawrence all my life,” she said. “This is all I know.”

photo by: Dylan Lysen/Lawrence Journal-World

Lawrence school district leaders and community partners cut a ribbon to celebrate the completion of a $46 million renovation of Lawrence High School during a ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.

Cynthia Johnson, who served as the school’s interim principal for much of the renovation, said she was proud to see dozens of alumni come celebrate the completion of the project.

She said she met visitors who graduated from the school in the 1950s who came back to see the building. She said one of the visitors wore her pep squad jacket from decades ago.

“This is a celebration of community, and that’s one of the best parts of being in Lawrence Public Schools,” Johnson said. “They wanted to come back because they are still Chesty Lions.”

Among those lifelong Chesty Lions at the ceremony was Brad Stoll, a 1990 graduate who is now a special education teacher and baseball coach at the school. He told the visitors that when the band played the fight song at the beginning of the event, he got goosebumps. And he said the reason LHS is so great isn’t just a newly renovated building, but the people who walk its halls.

photo by: Dylan Lysen/Lawrence Journal-World

Lawrence High School’s Hall of Honor featuring recognized alumni sits near the front of the renovated school building.

“The people make this place,” Stoll said. “I’m so proud to walk these halls and see these wonderful features, but I think about the people.”

Stoll told the Journal-World he could remember where he took some of his classes during his high school years, or even where a teacher reprimanded him. The building looks different now, but he said it’s still a great place for Chesty Lions to succeed and make memories.

“I have those images and history in my head, but this is home now,” he said. “I think our kids deserve this state of the art building. It’s such a great atmosphere for kids to learn.”

photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence High students lead guests on a tour of the renovated school on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. At center is one of several student learning pockets.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Along with adding space for renovated classrooms and study areas, like this math help room at left, the Lawrence High School renovation provides a modern feel to the building by adding more natural light and open spaces. At right in the distance is the bright commons area. District officials celebrated the completion of Lawrence High’s renovation during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A renovated library now sits on the northern side of Lawrence High School alongside an entrance that was renovated to provide more natural light and open space in the building. District officials celebrated the completion of Lawrence High’s renovation during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.

photo by: Mike Yoder

District officials celebrated the completion of Lawrence High’s renovation during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. Among the areas that were renovated is the cafeteria near the building’s entrance.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Sinks and individual restroom stalls are pictured in the newly renovated Lawrence High School on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence High School’s renovation includes new outdoor concourse areas where students can study, eat lunch and catch some sunshine. Additionally, the outdoor areas include large murals on the exterior walls of the building . District officials celebrated the completion of the renovation during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence High School’s renovation includes new outdoor concourse areas where students can study, eat lunch and catch some sunshine. Additionally, the outdoor areas include large murals on the exterior walls of the building . District officials celebrated the completion of the renovation during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A large hallway features display cases to incorporate former Lawrence High School memorabilia. District officials celebrated the completion of Lawrence High’s renovation during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.