Goodbye to Ironton, Ohio High School

[seicer]

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!

[suburban george3]

YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!?!? A gem like that? The school I went to in NC was also constructed in the early 20's and despite a massive cost to upgrade, including upgrading to central AC, wiring, technology, etc.. the community chose to preserve it. Budgets are probably quite constrained in Ironton to prevent them from doing this, but it seems they could have gotten state/federal/private assistance to save the school... what a shame!

I'm glad their going to save part of it... wish they could save it all....

[gs3]

Beautiful Auditorium in this old school. Sad to see something like this demolished.

[wolverine]

Being this is the second round seeing your photos of this school, I just realized how awful the terrazo floor looks. Really, it takes a lot of ill maintenance for it to end up looking like that. A damn shame.

[Evergrey]

Destruction of architectural grandeur in the name of central air... how pathetic

[seicer]

^ ^

You should see the ceilings in many rooms. They didn't bother sanding off the old paint entirely, so the paint has some depth!