Historic State Street School in Vermilion razed

VERMILION — When the State Street School first went up in 1873, it was the pride of the village. By the time it comes to the ground for good today, it will be the end of an era of being the city's sore spot. The distinctive building just north of the railroad tracks on state Route 60 is scheduled to be razed completely by dark, 10 years after city officials deemed it too hazardous to enter. Machines moved in on Monday and started in on the shell of the building left after decades of disrepair and rot had taken their toll. Previous exterminating and asbestos abatement work was already done, said Ellen Schrig, executive director of the Erie County Land Bank. The $175,000 demolition was paid for by a grant from the Ohio Development Department. The money will pay for site revitalization as well, including reseeding and landscaping this spring, she said. The Vermilion Chamber Foundation purchased the property in January 2022. Sandra Coe, executive director of the Vermilion Chamber of Commerce, said structural engineers and construction consultants were brought on-site. "The lowest costs were of $5 million and we'd still probably have to have to tear it down. It's not like we wanted flashing lights," Coe said. "It's a sensitive thing for people. There's a lot of memories there for people, way before me." The four-room brick building was built to serve as the area's high school at 993 State St. Additions were built to eventually house all grades until its brick edifice towered above its distinctive arched doorway, its keystone etched with 1909, its last year of structural change. It was shuttered to students 30 years later and sat, empty, for decades until it landed in the hands of Friends of Harbour Town 1837, Vermilion's historic restoration group. It became known around town as Vermilion's Old Haunted Schoolhouse — but that was by design. The Harbourtown group, eventually realizing the enormity of repair costs needed for the building, held annual "haunted schoolhouse" events to raise funds. "They needed a roof 30 or 40 years ago. They tried to raise the money to fix up that building and they never quite got there. If they had, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation now, if that could've happened," Coe said. "Something sitting empty like that, with no upkeep? And nobody's throwing money at you. It's just sad. We were very sensitive to that." The foundation also owns the property next door, the Commodore's Place, often called the "Blue Building," at 995 State St. Coe has said previously and again said the foundation's intention is for the building to become a business incubator and something to be a "good gateway" to welcome people to the city, as it is one of the first things that welcomes visitors in on a main thoroughfare to town. "It's going to be a green space with potential development, and maybe something with a butterfly park," Coe said. Coe said she'd like to see the building become a place to host business meetings, or for rentable community space. A portion of the lot where the train depot stands is privately owned. Coe said she and the chamber's board will discuss the future for the site, hoping to include materials salvaged from the building in a park design to honor the memory of Diane and Don Chestnut, who founded the Friends of Harbour Town 1837 group and secured the school property initially. The Chestnuts died in 2017. For now, Coe said she would like people to understand the city is not tearing the building down and throwing all the old bricks away. "We are fully aware of all the situations and memories over there. We want to reuse all the materials we can possibly reuse. In the future, once we see what we're going to use, we're not running off with anything, we'll see what we can do," she said. "Please be patient." Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.