SCHOOL OF THE LANDFILL

Some of you may have elsewhere learned of the latest plans of the Board of Education of Cleveland, Ohio, to close many school buildings. Some examples of these are not just simple closings -- they include plans to build replacement schools on the same sites, which of course means demolition of the schools already there. As is always the case, the oldest buildings were automatically chosen for this death-row roster, giving no regard to the good physical condition of some of the buildings, and/or the exemplary architecture of some of the buildings. One school that is in both of these catagories is the one known in recent years as the School Of The Arts. Built in 1910 as the Board's new Normal School (i.e., a training school for new teachers), it was constructed just off of University Circle, on Stearns Road, facing the campus of what was then the Case School Of Applied Sciences, and a stone's-throw from all the city's primary cultural institutions. Seemingly as a result of the company it would be keeping at this location, the building was enhanced with what may very well be the most artistic architectural embellishments that were perhaps ever put onto a Cleveland school building [please see accompanying photos]. What better structure could there be to represent Cleveland's School Of The Arts?? To destroy a building with artwork that rivals art on display at the nearby Art Museum is nothing less than an act of savagry. But destroy it they shall -- the demolition fencing is already in place, as seen in the full-view photo. New assignment: School Of The Landfill.