I’m really glad to have stumbled upon your site here. I’ve always been quite fascinated by the history of Maplewood/South Orange and especially Columbia. You’ve got quite a wealth of information about it, even the entry of the floorplan in the Encyclopedia Brittanica and the John Marshall school in LA. Do you have any more information about Columbia or the town history that’s not here on the site?

Back in the day I explored the catwalks under the roof, but alas never made it under the stage, which was a rite of passage for stage crew members.

You know I hadn’t seen that page yet when I wrote the response and was actually going to say that if you were still looking for a tour of the tower Alan Levin would be the one to give it to you!

My mother was a teacher in the district for over 30 years, many of them were spent at Columbia. She retired in 2003 but was a colleague of Mr. Levin’s and he was actually my physics teacher while I attended.

I believe he said then that the telescope was in need of some servicing in order to be usable again but that may have been done since. I do, however, recall that one of the times I climbed the tower was for the “egg drop” experiement in his physics class.

Have you tried to explore other parts of Columbia? It’s really quite an amazing building. There is a sub-basement of sorts underneath the auditorium and the swimming pool that has an almost ‘catacombs’ type feel to it. It’s where the plumbing for the pool is located and some of the servicing for the ventilation to the auditorium.

This is some great information you have here. I attended CHS in the mid-90s and I’m very fascinated by this. The picture you have in the above link is actually where the B-Wing joins the original structure. The B-Wing is the addition that runs alongside Academy Street. The D-Wing is the most hideous appendage in my opinion and is the one that extends lengthwise from the front fascade of the building out towards Valley Street. There is a small faculty lot in front of it.

I was in the tower a few times while I attended school there and as most have said there isn much, except at the top. On the way up I recall only one room above the third floor level (where the rest of the original structure stops rising). It was a large room and most likely the one that a few have said they had homeroom in. It hadn’t been used in quite some time and was very dirty/dusty and mostly empty except for a few pieces of worn old living room furniture. I’m not sure where that may have come from or when it would have been put there. Above that you would walk past the clockworks which haven’t been functional for awhile and then up to the observatory. There was a swivel mounted telescope that was meant to look at the stars when the copper roof was cranked open. Neither appeared to have been used for years and it’s possible the roof had been sealed to avoid leaks.

As additions go, it’s not the worst; the materials and finish are in keeping with the original structure, and in fact Betelle had designed the rear of the building to be extended (not precisely as had been done, however).

As for the later 60-70s additions, yeah, they are abominations. Here’s a shot showing how D-Wing was unceremoniously slammed into the original facade: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweintraub/3070761971/