Eleanor McMain School
November 17, 1941

The following descriptions are from Podine Schoenburger's January 10, 1932 article.  The colors described by Shoenburgburger don't match the modern-day colors but give us a glimpse or what the building looked like so many years ago:  The exterior of the stucco school building was painted green. Schoenburger described the "strange colorful entrance" with vivid blue urns, one at each side of the main door, in which century plants were growing. The carved tops of the white pillars flanking the doorway were painted green and cold.  The doors were of leaded glass with a basket of brightly colored flowers topping them. Green grinning gargoyles topped them all, and above them the nameplate was blue with with gold letters spelling out the school's name amid a pair of gold lions. High above the entrance of the three-story building are two sculptures by Albert Ricker.  The first  depicted a young Acadian maiden in a blue dress, starched apron, and a spinning wheel at here feet to symbolize industry.  The second figure is of an older woman, with an owl as symbol of wisdom.  

As the girls stepped inside onto inlaid terrazzo floors, two cream-colored curved staircases with carved balustrades and mahogany rails could take them up the the principals office, the main office, or the teachers room. The principals office opened to a brightly tiled, yellow-walled court yard with a blue, green, and yellow fountain, providing a "tropical atmosphere". 

On the third floor was a study hall which could accommodate 300 students. It was finished in green and buff with full-length leaded glass doorways which led to an overhanging balcony.

The classrooms were finished in green, blue, and pink in a "modern style in perfect keeping with the personalities of the lithe creatures who will people it".  Each room had a telephone. Some large rooms could be divided by accordion doors which, when closed, provided a series of blackboards. The building was equipped with radio and loudspeakers. Oscillating heaters were employed on the ground floor; ventilation and heat throughout the facility were "modern to the nth degree" and there were "many and generous windows".

Natural lighting in the art room was provided by a central skylight.  There were hand dryers on each side of white wash basins. "Ducky little kitchens", each different, were designed so that "one can learn to cook for a $15 a week clerk husband, a husband of moderate means, or a wealthy banker spouse". The first  was small with a tiny stove and diminutive sink -- "Girls will learn to manage a small apartment, so that if they plan to live on love they will know how to feed hubby dear in cramped quarters, and on a slim income".  The second kitchen was larger, "to train for moderate housekeeping".  The third had an "electric stove and other luxuries that migh be found in a wealthy home".

The auditorium"resembles a large theater" with a saucer-shaped balcony, special switchboard for stage lighting, a projection booth "for showing both silent and talking pictures", and an asbestos curtain side-draped with gold and blue velvet. It could accommodate 3000 people. There were four science labs, 40 classrooms, a 5000 book library, and a modern cafeteria in the building which measured 180 x 390 feet and was built at a cost of $550,000. This "colorful structure embodying many new ideas in education was opened under the direction of Miss Alice A Leckert, principal".

McMain opened its doors to the public on Sunday, January 31, 1932 from 4 to 7 p.m. when a reception was hosted by the teachers.  The 917 students' first day was Monday, February 1, when the girls gathered in the auditorium for speeches by local dignitaries followed by a flag raising ceremony with music provided by the Warren Easton band.

Today Eleanor McMain Secondary School is open to boys and girls in the 7th through 12th grades.  Still under the direction of the Orleans Public Schools, it has 769 students whose graduation rate is 95%.