The History of Houses

How many changes have you made in your house and/or yard since you’ve been living at your current address?  Certainly you haven’t occupied that piece of property for over 100 years, but maybe your family has.  Our NDA family has occupied two houses in the past 107 years: one on 5th St. in Covington for 57 years and the one on Hilton Dr. for 50.  If the changes in the 5th Street building alone were recorded here, you would be reading for quite a while. 
A few changes that come to mind could revolve around the transfer of Sisters’ quarters in 1927 to 1601 Dixie Highway, their new provincial center.  Before this time the school building was as much a convent as it was a school.  The move therefore freed a number of rooms for school use.  The 5th Street facility was still the home of a grade school, a high school and a commercial school with the “Music House” providing space for music lessons.  That building was purchased in 1922 for an infirmary for the Sisters as well as for music lessons (thus the “Music House”).  Since it was so close to the school building a bridge was built between the two buildings.  This bridge was later torn down (1931) to allow for more classroom space. 
These movings-about were many and with no elevator yet as can be read in the next blog spot!  The Music House became home also to the Art Department after 1948 when Sr. M. Reina, helped by her sister Mill, moved the department from the third floor of the main building.  The Fine Arts were always capital at Notre Dame Academy and now had their own building separate from the rest of the school but always a vital part of it.