Demo Photo Set #3

These were taken on Saturday January 3o, 2016. During my half hour in the parking lot about a dozen people came by to check things out and reminisce.

What appears to be a sign standing in the middle of the rubble is actually the fire exit door at the south exit of the gym which opened to the main first floor hallway of the south wing. The gray portion is the transom section above the double doors. Partially exposed under the old smoke stacks is the narrow outside space between the Cottage Street Section and the gym wall. These two sections were only joined on the first floor, the high floors had windows opening into this narrow outside corridor which extended all the way to the main courtyard. This portion of the gym wall is where the west wall of the 19th century high school was located. It was converted to a Junior High School and remained standing for several years until the additions were built. Much of the original sandstone foundation remains. On the basement level under this spot are the old blower and heat exchangers which heated both buildings until the stream plant was built on the northeast corner.

Note the odd opening under the girder near the top of the above photo. The framed portion was visible on the wall of the gym as a white panel just behind the south basket, but the brickwork discloses that the opening was once twice the size of the framed portion. Why there would have been an opening with an I-beam lentil twelve feet above the gym floor and opening into the 2nd floor hallway in a complete mystery. Perhaps this was once the south wall of the original high school building and the opening was a large window or a door to a fire escape. If so more of the 1870's building was incorporated into the gym than I had believed.