Too little, too late?

Last year, I visited the old Viola Elementary School, where I attended Kindergarten through 3rd Grade. From the road, it looked alright; the grounds had a tendency to get overgrown. However, when one got close, it wasn't pretty. Dad was kind of upset about it, too. In his day, it was a high school.

Main entrance with gymnasium on the right. It's going

to be fun replacing the missing brick (center of photo).

The building made the news recently when the county decided it was ripe for demolition. Evidence of meth making was found, and several interior walls are at risk of collapse. Not to mention animal "tracks." May 15 was the deadline for improvement.

South entrance. The stairs on the left lead to the kindergarten room.

A stay of execution was granted to give the building's new owners, the Stone City Art Foundation, a chance to submit a plan, and to border the area to prevent further break-ins and damage.

I've seen 88-year-old buildings in better shape than this. I'm trying to remember the floorplan (after all I was only eight the last time I was in there) ... Big open halls to accomodate arriving and departing classes ... Fairly decent sized classrooms ... Huge gym ... Lots of space.

After a structural analysis is complete, stabilizing the building is the main concern to stop further decay. Make plans for ADA accessibility, after all, there are two floors and a basement. I don't remember an elevator, but there might be a service one. Ramps will have to be built so that wheelchairs can get in the main doors. The bathrooms will have to be upgraded. Who knows what condition the HVAC is in, if there even is one. (There is a boiler room with steam radiators in the classrooms. We used to get in trouble for melting crayons on them during the winter.) And then there's the windows. Many are broken or gone. Ugh.

If the top floor could be ripped out and made to be all open (except maybe a janitor's closet and the requisite bathrooms), there's your display space. Even if you replace the windows to their original height, a translucent wall can be built to filter the natural light so it's not so harsh and damaging. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver has such a concept.

The first floor could be your creation spaces: kiln room, painting, etc. I don't recall a performance space of any kind, so if there isn't one in the gym, build a raised stage so the seating could remain on the floor. Storage in the basement, of course.

But it's not hard to imagine a bus or two travelling the countryside gathering kids for a day's worth of activities. Heck, even a summer's worth.