HELENA — The future of Hawthorne School has been a hot topic recently as Helena Public Schools announced the potential closure of the school for budget concerns.
The historic building was discussed at the monthly Heritage Tourism Council meeting Tuesday evening where members shared their concerns about the school's potential closure but also hope for the future.
The school opened in 1879 and although many parents and community members are advocating to keep the school open, the Heritage Tourism Council is researching to see if it could become a historic site on the national register so that nearly a decade and a half story can live on.
They have looked into making it into a national register historic site before but there were concerns due to an earthquake in the mid-thirties took away most of the third floor and destroyed the original brick
Its current look which is the third rendition of the school could be argued as altered due to a significant historic event and has given the council hope for future national register candidacy.
Further discussion will be held at next month’s meeting.
