Billings Senior High School #BroncNation

Completed in 1940, the school was built in a conservative modern style, steering away from the traditional ornamental decorations of the 1930's. It contained 24 classrooms, four science, two craft, three commercial, two music, one public speaking room, a cafeteria, and administrative offices. The auditorium has seating for 834 people, causing some to criticize that it was too small. The gym had seats for 2,000 and a 50 x 84 foot basketball court. To handle the increasing number of students, an annex was built, separate from the school, in 1953. It added eight social studies rooms. By 1967 the number of students had increased almost 1,800, and the annex could no longer handle the enrollment. The annex was torn down to make way for a larger addition. Construction of the new addition began in 1967. The addition included a new library, a counseling center, and the north third of the new gym. The addition was built three floors high, but the third floor was unused for a few years. An addition to the gym, that was constructed in 1967, was completed in 1973, and a ceremony was held to celebrate the placing of the cornerstone. Present at the ceremony were a few students and dignitaries, Mr. R. A. Collins, principal; and George Selover, chairman of the Board of Trustees. The idea for the ceremony came from Yellowstone Key Club advised by Mr. Dewey Hansen. The club had a copper box made by one of the shop classes, and filled it with various school and community paraphernalia, some of which included a BSH handbook, the BSH crest, a football roster, a Class of '74 roster, a Billings Gazette, a 1973 United Way brochure, a telephone book, an issue of Newsweek, and an issue of Time magazine. Throughout the years the Billings Senior High building has changed several times, but the high quality of education has remained the same for 50 years, making Senior High the oldest and one of the finest schools in the state."