Some rooms inside Keith Junior High School immediately bring back memories. Others feel frozen in time.
One of the most striking spaces in the building is the old shower room connected to the boys locker room — a room that feels untouched by time and full of history. Walking into it today almost feels like stepping onto the set of an old prison movie, with its aged concrete, worn fixtures, and raw industrial atmosphere. It’s one of those spaces that instantly sparks imagination and curiosity about what the building once looked and felt like during its busiest years.
Of all the rooms throughout Keith, this may be one of the roughest in terms of condition. Years of wear, age, and disuse are clearly visible throughout the space. But even in its current state of disrepair, there’s still something fascinating about it. It tells a story — one that many former students probably remember vividly.
Right now, the future purpose of the room is still being decided. But like so many other parts of the building, the goal is not to abandon it — it’s to find a way to redeem and repurpose it for meaningful community use once again.
That’s part of what makes the restoration of Keith so unique. Every hallway, classroom, locker room, and forgotten corner carries history with it. Some spaces are polished and ready for new life, while others are still waiting for their next chapter.
This shower room may not look like much today, but it represents something bigger: the opportunity to preserve the character of the building while transforming it into something valuable for the future of Altoona.
The journey continues room by room.
