And so my journeys in the world of to be demolished municipal buildings continue. This time it was to be a former school closed just that very spring. Already it had been reported, that people had broken into the school, climbed to the roof, removed tiles and thrown them all around the yard.
Built in 1955, the Ruosniemi school served its pupils for 67 years, until somebody decided, that something more modern was needed. The pupils moved out and the school was moved to the demolition list.
Again as a lover of 1950’s school architecture, I was sad and disappointed.
The gym windows were boarded shut, so I guess that’s where the vandalism had taken place. The electricity is still on.
The school’s main entrance.
The goodbyes.
More tags on the wall, but what puzzles me are the old texts ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ on the wall. The foundation loooks a bit different here, so maybe there has originally been an entrance to the outdoor break toilets in here.
Indeed it looks like some bricks have fallen off the roof.
I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a small staircase behind those three windows.
The junction between the gym wing and the classroom wing. There was no apartment wing, which was a bit unusual for schools from this era.
There was a small lobby with big windows between the wings. They had been covered.
Moving behind the classroom wing. The main staircase is right in this end of the building. It’s again revealed by the windows.
The back side of the school.
There was a small local library in one wing of the school.
Remember the alarm, the note says.
The old fashioned sign makes me believe, that the library wasn’t opened just yesterday.
And to my surprise the building wasn’t completely abandoned. The library would go on for one more week before moving to the new school.
Despite its valued status and objections from the museum authorities saying, that the city should have thought of its valuable buildings before deciding where to build its schools, the building was demolished the following winter.