Ironton, Ohio's High School, constructed in 1922, will be demolished soon. A new three-story school, to be built essentially in the same footprint, will replace this grand brick classical building. The reasoning is that the existing school, which lacks central air throughout portions of the building, would require expensive upgrades.

 

Which is very much true. The school was hotter than Hell on the day I chose to visit. The auditorium, where a play was being held, was a sweatbox. Large fans, which stay pretty much near the auditorium, were wheeled out.

 

The three-story structure has many novelties and graceful moments. From gorgeous oak hardwood floors to a two-tiered auditorium to the maze of corridors and stairwells, it will be very sad to watch this school be razed. The new building will definitely be a marked improvement on most fronts; at the very least, the front entryway, with its grand staircase, will be saved and used as the main entrance for the new building.

 

Ironton High School, 1922-2007.

 

I posted 41 photographs total to Abandoned. Check them out!

 

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1. Auditorium

The two-level auditorium features original seating and is one of the more unique displays in public schools. They are not crafted in this manner anymore!

 

2. 'Ol glory

 

3. Kitchen

 

4. Cafeteria

The two-level cafeteria was located in the basement.

 

5. Girl's Locker Room

Why do I suddenly feel like Quagmire from Family Guy?

 

6. 1974 Gymnasium

The 1974 gymnasium is more modern and will not be demolished.

 

7.

Natural skylights helped brighten the hallways.

 

8.

 

Enjoy these last public photographs of the school! Asbestos abatement begins in June, followed by demolition. Photographs and commentary will be provided over the new few months!

It's a shame that we've lost most of those classic school buildings, and many of the ones that remain are in pretty sad condition.

 

When I was a kid, the old schools had a characteristic smell that came from the oil-mopped wood floors and the varnish and maybe just a hint of mustiness, especially when school started up in the fall. The smell was the first thing that would trigger memories when I visited a school, long after I graduated.

 

The newer schools that I've visited mostly smell of vinyl, synthetic carpet and raw concrete, and it's institutional and unpleasant to me.

Wow, what a shame.  I had no idea Ironton was getting new schools.  Even passed by on Saturday without even noticing.  I can only remember two times that I visited the school.  Once for an Abraham Lincoln performance in the auditorium and the second was to take my ACT in the cafeteria.

 

Hope they don't end up looking like the new Portsmouth City Schools.  What a traveshamockery they are to the old buildings.

Great work!

Thanks for the photos, but I am tired of OSFC demolishing our historic schools.

 

It is interesting that instead of putting "IHS" over the stage they put "HIS." IHS is also Greek for Jesus, so I have to wonder if that is the reason.

its amazing that for some 85 years they could deal without air conditioning but now we have to tear down grand old buildings because its too expensive to retrofit them.

It really is a large school for a city of ~12,000. It features the central school building (1922), a gymnasium addition (can't be soon after), a more modern gymnasium (1950s), various other small buildings, and a new gymnasium (1975). Walking inside is like going through a friggin maze. Wide hallways in the original 1922 portion, small passageways and many nooks and crannies in the additions, followed by sterile environments in the 1975 addition.

 

The school would be very expensive to upgrade. I believe the cost was 1.5x over the cost of a total tear-down and rebuild, and would involve the addition of a modern HVAC system throughout. The classrooms have window boxes and some odd vents near the doors (older A/C system that no longer works?). The electrical system also needs an overhaul, along with the communications network. Asbestos abatement would need to be done on an upgrade of that size, along with lead paint removal from the walls. Essentially, the school would need a gutting for any major renovation.

 

It's sad to see this go but at least the new school will be just as large. And its not going to be a one or two story box at the very least.

That's odd that a new HVAC system would be the difficult to outfit in this building.  I've been working on renovations to old schools for the past couple of years at the architecture firm I work for. 

 

What we typically end up doing is dropping the hall ceilings for ductwork and other conduit and replace them with a drop ceiling (which sucks, but it's a good trade off).  This allows the classrooms to maintain their ceiling height.  In some instances we bring small exposed ductwork into the classrooms.  Usually classrooms near the center of the building, or near the ends are sized down to allow space for chases to pass through.  Usually we just make the classrooms offices if they end up being too small.  You can never have enough offices in a school.

 

I'm having a tough time buying the whole tear down and rebuild is cheaper from the school officials.  We've outfitted some of the most impossible schools with new communications equipment HVAC and new wiring that didn't require a massive overhaul on several buildings.  At the same time, we ripped out drop ceilings in classrooms and installed full height windows that were energy efficient and matched the identical architecture of the building during it's completion.

 

I think  this is more about a school with a bad layout, high maintenance costs, and aging appearance.  The ideas of what should be saved and what should not vary city to city, school board to school board.

 

For example, my hometown of Saginaw is slowly replacing all the older schools which are quite beautiful.  There are the same excuses, although these aging structures sit in the middle of blight and abandonment.  Sometimes I think they want to erase the idea of the building being a ghetto intercity school, and rebuild a bright new shiny structure on the site that casts an aura of improvement over the neighborhood. 

 

On the other hand, nearby Bay City is preserving all of its older buildings, even if the expenses are high.  They value the history and beauty behind them.  Therefore, they are restoring the exterior, upgrading HVAC systems, and improving classrooms, and additions all match the original architecture... not some crappy tacked on POS that so many firms today still do.

 

I'd be interested to see what Ironton puts up.  It can't be any different from the 3 story faux historical building that replaced my old classical elementary school this year.

Kentucky passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act in 1990, which gave schools increased funding to build new facilities or upgrade existing ones. Well, of course, they chose to build new schools instead of renovating. What occurred as a result was neglected buildings throughout the state; districts simply cut off maintenance funding in many cases. The district would then cry out that the structure was "unsafe" or "needing major repair" and then build anew. I am almost going to state that this is the case for Ironton and it is readily visible -- peeling paint in many hallways, paint overlay issues (too many overlays basically), holes in some walls (!), non-functional A/C system (although window boxes work for the classrooms when turned on), and a general rundown appearance overall.

 

Dammit. The superintendent needs to hurry up and e-mail me the renderings! :)

:clap: :clap: :clap:

 

SEICER:

 

Thank you for the tour of Ironton High School!  I have a major fascination with such old buildings, particularly the rooms you showcased!  Great job!

I would like to say one thing:  School Boards ultimately vote on their school building plan.  If a community really wants to keep certain facilities, they can.  OSFC will not make them demo.  But they get a certain amount of money to carry out the plan opting "new" is chosen many times but not always.  Greenfield is a great example of keeping their old high school for example.

creepin' in the little girls locker room....

 

 

goo

They are moving items out already.

 

See the other Ironton, Ohio thread for updates. It's going, going...