Rumor: Cleveland High School to Be Demolished
Word on the street, from a reliable source, is there is talk of razing Cleveland High School (photo source,map) to build an “alternative” school. I’m not sure I know what an alternative school is but I do know that Cleveland HS is an important part of my neighborhood. The building stands proud facing Grand just south of Meramec.
Cleveland HS, built in 1915, has served as the Junior Naval Academy since 1981.
I hope this turns out to be a false rumor but if someone out there is thinking this is a good idea think again. This school is a classic building and a symbol of the greatness of this city at the early part of the 20th Century. We’ve got parking lots and other waste land all over this city where a new school can be built.
– Steve
That would be a terrible loss. I have great memories of that school even though I didn’t go there. My father taught there for many, many years and would bring me up there during his coaching years.
This has to be a frivolous rumor. I cannot imagine that such an architectural gem and neighborhood landmark would be demolished when buildings of its calibur are in such great demand again. I’m sure there are other places for “alternative” schools, just as I am sure there are plenty of developers who would love to get their hands on Cleveland High.
An odd thing happened this year. I coach at Webster Groves, and we went to Cleveland to play a game on Feb 8th. Feb 8th is my (deceased) Grandmothers birthday, and she graduated from Cleveland. We beat Cleveland that night, badly.
This would be a horrible loss, and you can bet that if this topic gets raised (no pun intended), I’ll be on the frontlines defending this beautiful building.
Demolishing Cleveland HS doesn’t make sense either from an architectural or economical standpoint.
Demolition!
Two of my grandmothers graduated from there in the 40s. That school is very significant. An alternative high schol is for those who do not perform academically as “normal” students; I define it as students with a GPA of 1.0 to 0.0.
An alternative school is to prevent students from dropping out of high school.
There are many examples of this style of building in the area. Brookings Hall at Washington University, the old CBC, and SLUH come to mind. So the building can’t be said to be very unique.
With that said, I don’t know why the Cleveland High building couldn’t be used just as those other buildings I mentioned are (or will be in the case of the old CBC). Seems like another case of the St. Louis public schools waste of resources if the rumor is true.
So they want an alternative school. Thats fine. It might even be a good thing. The new head of SLPS has done a good job and deserves some latitude in proposing such an idea.
But to get an alternative school does not mean that this building needs to be torn down. Moreover, I belive that in someways it could be an asset in the process.
I don’t see demolition happening. The School Board got a lot of bad press a few years ago when they okayed a plan to demolish the Theresa School for a Walgreens. They rescinded that decision after realizing it was designed by William Ittner (how did they not know that in the first place?). Cleveland was designed by Ittner too, and I just don’t see the School Board wanting to go through what they did with Theresa again, or wanting to get any bad press right now. But I’ve been surprised before, so who knows.
You’re emphasizing the wrong part of the rumor, Steve. Dr. “Reliable Source” is just trying to rile up the neighborhood by spreading the rumor that there is an “alternative school” planned for the site.
That’s not true. Nor is the rumor about demolition.
What is true, is that Cleveland will need a great deal of work — possibly $30 million — on its foundation and systems before it becomes whatever it becomes next.
The trend in SLPS is toward smaller high schools anyway, so SLPS probably won’t be spending that money.
So, what should it be, Urbanites?
[REPLY – Good points, rumors should always be taken with a grain of salt. But I don’t think we can look at the schools and point to any trends — things change seemingly every few months. – SLP]
So what is your point publiceye? If it needs work, tear it down and build a pole barn in its place for the next use? The trend in this day and age is to simply build what is cheapest regardless of what aesthetically improves the neighborhood. Whatever comes of this site should ONLY utilize the school and there should never even be a thought of tearing this building down.
But in the end, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised that someone in this “great” city of ours would be considering demolition.
“So what is your point publiceye?”
The building is beautiful.
Its current owners probably don’t have $30 million to fix it.
It probably isn’t going to be a high school, because the district is moving toward smaller high schools. It isn’t going to be an “alternative school,” because the necessary work to the infrastructure makes that prohibitively expensive. It isn’t going to be demolished.
What should it be? Mothballed? Sold? Traded for other property?
Surely, Shirley, those questions are appropriate for this site.
$30 million for work on foundations and systems before it can become something else?
Is this some rumor circulated by the owners to rationalize the current owners’ idea of tearing it down? Something like this was said about St. Al’s but developers were willing to buy it for more than the Archdiocese sold it for, and then redevelop it. The the BOA OKs the demolition after the preservation board denies it.
Shall we get into a discussion about how the Century demolition was handled? The preservation Board approved that. Tom Reeves didn’t know what his plan said about parking facing the OPO! The Century was supposed to be about to crumble, but it didn’t come down with a single swipe by the headache ball.
In Old North St. Louis, buildings with a remaining wall standing seem to be rehabbed instead of demolished, so I’m tired of hearing how old buildings are too run down to make it feasible to rehab.
What systems does it need? A/C and new heat? A new building would need that. How much is “systems” and how much is foundation? How many biased opinions were solicited?
As a City resident, I’ve been lied to outright, and I’ve heard such ridiculous “rumors” before that resulted in BAD decisions. I’ve earned the right to be cynical.
Until Public Eye responded, I didn’t take this rumor seriously. But now, I figure the mayor and/or Board of Aldermen and/or School Board is up to something that will result in another bad, irreversible decision that will affect our environment for many years.
Where did you arrive at the figure of $30 million, PE?
“Until Public Eye responded . . .”
LOL. I may have to use you in the marketing.
“Where did you arrive at the figure of $30 million?”
It’s an SLPS number, Michael. And I don’t really know what all’s in the number.
I don’t think it’s a number offered to justify a demo. Rather, I think it’s a number offered to indicate the scope of the challenges to rehab it as a contemporary learning environment.
What, then, could it be? Hotel? Condos? Senior center? Offices? Charter school? Should it just be mothballed against the day it’s needed again? Or should there be a special bond campaign to rehab and modernize it?
(I know that as long as it has bike racks, Steve won’t care . . .)
[REPLY – Oh PE you know me better than that. I will care about street trees, on-street parking, and a myriad of other factors. But yet, bike racks would be sweet! – SLP]
I thought Cleveland NJROTC only had about 600 students these days anyway. Are they planning to shut down that magnet program, or just relocate?
It’s probably been 10 years since I’ve been inside Cleveland, but wasn’t it extensively renovated and a gym added on to the north in the 1980s when it was made the home of the NJROTC high school? That program was previously located at Kennard.
Also, any idea what’s going to happen with Central High School at Natural Bridge and Garrison? The same story was told there: it would take too much money to fix the problems with the buildings, so they just up and moved the only magnet high school in North St. Louis way down to the old Southwest High School building.
The only high school decision made so far has been the new one at Carnahan.
Where did you get that number?
Who at SLPS could field questions from readers of this blog?
I’d ask Steve. See the first entry of this thread.
Ha. I don’t think Steve unveiled the official $30 million figure, which is what I am most interested in.
And of course the Century Building had to be razed because it had asbestos in it.
(This was one of the cynical justifications from the demolishing “developer,” Steve Stogel. Never mind that asbestos is commonly remediated from buildings under renovation downtown.)
Shape the story, and you shape the world. Pretty soon, people around the neighborhood will be parroting the “too expensive to rehab” line.
I want to know how asbestos in a building justifies its demolision. I thought that in order for a building to be demolished the asbestos must first be removed.
Wow. Just flew in for a Spring Break visit. Haven’t been here since 1981. Left for the Marine Corp then and have since moved around the states. Coming home to an urban rumor such as this is at best deserves a double-take. Are you sure? Hasn’t this buidling been deemed a city historical site by the Mayor, yet? Once this happens, then demolition would less likely to occur.
Business wise, yes, the building is out-dated and maybe in this case, demolition and rebuilding is cheaper than refurbishing. But, an historical landmark (only if it’s legal) would be less likely to be demolished.
Parts of this building can be preserved by bits and pieces of various museums as far as the archituecture goes. But the idea of losing a landmark such as this, would be devistating to the future generations.
There are many cultural values lost in the Bevo area already, and losing this building would only increase that loss.
I attended cleveland no more than a year ago and granted, yes it needs work but to completely just wipe it out? Can we get a superintendent with a little common sense? You don’t just come in because you got a little power and start “abandoning” historical landmarks. That building could be fixed if they searched around some more. This school is prettier than any new school in the county. I have my best memories of high school there-
Oh yea, and “craig” the building is more unique than you act like.
The Castle is Historic to the southside, just as Vashon is to the northside. Vashon was rebuilt!! I smell developers in the air. What a waste of an architectural building! I am sure there are enough Alumni to pull together their individual trades for repair or help raise the needed funds.
I think everyone should band together to save Cleveland NJROTC–I didn’t graduate from there but count me in! I was hoping for my son to attend Cleveland from the feeder school–Pruitt Military Academy—which Craig is also closing??
Cleveland is not being torn down the rumor is that its being moved.To a smaller school. Cause there is not really any air conditioning the heat is as old as the building and the school cant affor to provide the money to keep the astablishment running cooly.
[REPLY First, this post is from two months ago — long before anyone else had even batted an eye toward Cleveland. Search my site for Cleveland and you will find newer posts. Second, all that has been discussed so far is relocating students. The disposition of the building has not yet been discussed and to my knowledge the school board has not ruled out selling the building which could potentially lead to demolition. I hope not but at this time it has not been ruled out. – SLP]
I attended this school for high school. They knew for years this school neede work and they neglected it. Instead they built new schools instaed of fixing the ones that need work. What does building new school do to help?? So when those new building need work I guess they will just let em fall down and build new ones. No wonder teachers cant get a raise!!!