Recovery Spotlight: Central School Rises in Restoration

by Katelynn Mouton

The sound of learning once again echoes throughout the halls of Kirby Street’s historic Central School. This sound was largely muted at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 and then silenced all together when Hurricane Laure made landfall in August of that same year. Now, nearly three years later, tenants have returned to Central School as repairs have wrapped up on the structure that dates back to 1912 and holds architectural significance.

The Great Fire of 1910 turned Central School, located in Lake Charles’ Charpentier Historic District, to ash. It is one of a handful of downtown buildings designed for reconstruction by noted New Orleans architects Favrot and Livaudais.

Students filled the hallways from 1912 until 1979. Its future would come into question in the early 1990s when the school was obsolete but, a dear treasure to many, the school was saved. In 1995, the doors reopened to a re-imagined Central School that would go on to thrive for decades as a central hub for creative synergy. Owned by the City of Lake Charles, Central School plays a vital role to the area’s cultural economy, making its post-storm restoration all the more important.

“Restoring historical structures post-disaster is a challenging undertaking, but it is important work for the preservation of our community’s history,” said Mayor Nic Hunter. “In addition to its historical significance, Central School is also vital to preserving the vibrancy of our arts and culture scene. This building serves as an incubator for the arts and humanities and we are thrilled to welcome tenants back.” Welcoming tenants back to Central School has been a long time coming and is a moment City of Lake Charles Director of Cultural Affairs Amanda Donaldson called pivotal.

“The resiliency and determination to get Central School back to its former glory has been a labor of love. We hope the renewed property will help unleash artistic visions and community collaborations,” says Donaldson. “By restoring this property, we are not only contributing to the preservation of a historic property, but also investing in our thriving local art scene.”

The Arts & Humanities Council of SWLA manages day-to-day operations at Central School, through an agreement with the City of Lake Charles.  Shawna Nile Batchelor, Executive Director of the council, is most looking forward to the creative atmosphere and exchange of ideas that naturally occurs when passionate people share a workspace.

 “Having a dedicated space where the arts are a priority produces so much good for the community,” says Nile Batchelor. “Just like focused light can create a laser which cuts through dense material, merging creative energies and visions can unlock a sort of magic that can produce solutions to problems, reveal opportunities, and create openings where they’re most needed. The arts and humanities are about sharing perspectives and building bridges, which frankly have become survival skills in today’s world.”

The return of tenants such as the Community Band, the Lake Charles Symphony, a number of theater and dance groups, along with many other artists, is a positive step forward in the community’s long-term recovery according to Nile Batchelor. “For an area like ours that has faced such crushing challenges, creative expression is famously effective at helping us transcend and overcome—our souls have to get strong, and the arts really contribute to that.”

The Arts & Humanities Council is working on plans to welcome the entire building back in grand fashion later this year, once final repairs are complete in the on-site auditorium. “We are planning an event to celebrate Central School’s reopening and would love to include stories from the community about their experiences there, as students or otherwise,” Nile Batchelor said. “Even knowing minor details about how the building was used in the past greatly enriches our daily experience of using the space and contributes to the history we carry forward.”

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