Ohio School To Fall
By Gianna Palmer | Online Only | July 22, 2008
The oldest part of the Commodore Building in Perrysburg, Ohio, will be demolished this year.
Credit: Perrysburg Schools
After years of debate, the fate of a historic school in Perrysburg, Ohio, was decided last month. On June 20, the board of education voted to demolish about half of the Commodore Building, an amalgamation of structures built between 1894 and 1991.
The future of the building has been in question since it closed to students in 2002. Various plans for the site, now used as offices, have been proposed since then, ranging from demolishing the whole property to reworking the space into condominiums.
But last month the school board accepted a bid of $152,000 to demolish large sections of the 117,000-square-foot building, including the 1894 section and a 1916 addition.
The decision will preserve a gymnasium constructed in 1957, a cafeteria built in 1991, and a building from 1931 that currently houses the school district's administrative offices.
Because of its many additions, the building is ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places. And with a leaky roof, the Commodore has been plagued by mold in recent years. "It's not the same grand building that stood back at the turn of the century," Perrysburg Superintendent Tom Hosler says. "What we want to do is make it a green space and build a pavilion there that the community can use."
Judith Justus, a Historic Perrysburg member and author of five history books, believes the recent Commodore Building developments are "too little, too late," though she acknowledges that the 1894 building can't be saved without significant financial investment. Justus, like many Perrysburg citizens, has a personal tie to the building: her four children went to school there, and she served as the high school band director for eight years.
On Sunday, Justus and other Perrysburg residents were given the opportunity to say their final farewells to the 1894 structure at a community open house. During the event, about 150 attendees watched a slide show, listened to various speakers, and browsed through old yearbooks.
Roseanne Barker, the Perrysburg School District's director of policy and communications, explained that this closing ceremony was important because when the building closed six years ago, its future was ambiguous.
"Now that we know what's going to happen, we'd like to recognize the building for what it's meant to the community for all these years, and then also celebrate what's coming," Barker says.
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Comments
Submitted by Anonymous at: July 28, 2008
Mark Twain, after serving as a California newspaper reporter, is alledged to have said: There's purgatory, hell, then school boards! ---SWL from Keene, NH