Old black steel fences once stretched from Hawthorne Street down to Walnut Street along Swissvale Avenue, facing the Main Building and extending to just before the First Presbyterian Church of Edgewood. Standing about five feet tall, the fences were made of vertical bars spaced roughly three inches apart and formed a half-circle around the 17-acre WPSD campus.
The original steel fences were built in the late 1880s around the first main school building. That original building was later destroyed by fire and reduced to ruins. When the second main building was rebuilt, the steel fences remained and survived.
During the 1960s and 1970s, boys from eighth grade through high school learned to use hand tools in painting class while working on the old steel fences. Flat scrapers were used on broad surfaces to remove heavy layers of paint and long-standing corrosion, while paint scrapers allowed students to strip paint without damaging the metal beneath. Heavy-duty stainless steel wire brushes helped break down rust, corrosion, and stubborn debris that had been built over many years.
On hot, sunny days, large trees behind the fences provided shade as the boys worked diligently to strip away the old paint. Progress came in small victories—some sections were cleaned, while other areas still held tightly to layers of aging paint. That was part of the learning process, and effort mattered as much as results. Today, the school no longer offers a painting class.
Over the years, numerous vehicle accidents took their toll. The metal had grown heavily rusted, paint had chipped away, rods were bent, and support posts had loosened. What had once marked the campus boundary had gradually become unsafe, creating both security concerns and visible signs of neglect.
It was time to replace the fences, and the work was completed before Christmas 2025 as part of an eight-week project. In total, 204 fencing sections and posts were removed and replaced. The new installation used the same type of iron, but in a modern style designed for easier repair should damage occur in the future.
The renewed fence restored both function and appearance. Its clean lines reflected the beauty of the campus while providing a safer and more secure boundary—transforming a once-fragile barrier into a lasting symbol of care and preservation.
Written by Stephen Rute (1974)
Special thanks to Robert Maher Jr. (2006), David Fulmer (1996)
