Completed in 1929 with all the trappings of a modern educational facility, today, deferred maintenance and incompatible additions raised questions about Morgan Middle School’s architectural integrity. Moreover, citing structural deficiencies and other shortcomings, the Ellensburg School District proposed construction of a new middle school on the outskirts of town. But residents of Ellensburg were not quite ready to concede the existing middle school – a handsome brick structure designed in 1929 by Floyd Naramore. After a lengthy public process, in 2015 voters approved a bond to rehabilitate the historic central core of Morgan while sensitively adding new wings for needed educational programming. The rehabilitated school opened in fall of 2018.

Efforts to rehabilitate the school were championed by local advocates organized as Modernize Our Morgan (MOM). With private funding, MOM commissioned a feasibility study which found the costs associated with rehabilitation to be comparable to new construction. These findings helped establish rehabilitation as the preferred option for the community. MOM member Robert Walker was instrumental in this effort. Sadly, Robert passed away a few years ago, but we acknowledge him here for his commitment to Morgan Middle School.