After realizing, that I had to say goodbye to the old restaurant Jokela, I next drove up the Niinivaara hill, where two more endangered landmarks were standing.
The first of them is the former Juhanala school built in 1960. The school in the building was closed in 2012 and the high school in the same building in 2015. After that a nearby school used it as their temporary premises, while a new school was built for them. They left in 2018.
After that only the gym and community space were in use. They were closed in 2021. As the city had no use for the building, they drafted a new detail plan, which allowed it to be replaced with four blocks of flats. It had come into force earlier that spring, so I thought I’d document even this building.
Turns out, that I was already late.
The demolition had already begun from the interior of the building. There wasn’t much to see here anymore.
The previous time I saw this building, there hadn’t yet been any vandalism. That’s why I hadn’t even thought of trying to get inside.
Judging by the amount of waste, the asbestos removal has already been done, and there is not much more than bare concrete inside any more.
And as there were piles in every corner of the school, the work had probably been carried out all over the place already.
The building was one of the final examples of this type of post war school architecture before more modern styles emerged. Its destruction is again a pity.
That small, odd wing has probably been the caretaker’s apartment back in the days.
Moving on to the back side. I still hadn’t given up hope of finding cracks in the fence.
The windows revealed the location of stairways.
Again I am just guessing, but I think the wing to the right is the gym.
Looking back towards the classroom wing.
The far end of the school. No open doors here.
I wonder what has been in that small wing.
No luck here today. The school was gone by the end of the year, but it wasn’t the only landmark, that this detail plan erased.