News 8
Former students fight to save historic school 
02:13 PM CDT on Saturday, June 27, 2009
>A preservation fight to protect history is growing in a Dallas neighborhood and the goal is to save a high school that opened nearly 100 years ago.
The Dallas Independent School District wants to rebuild Adamson High School in North Oak Cliff, but some former graduates are against the project.
“I think Oak Cliff needs an architectural gem like this, with a history like this, like other parts of Dallas,” said Glenn Straus from the Adamson Alumni Association.
Straus who graduated from Adamson in 1959 admits the school needs some work, but he wants the district to see beyond the broken bricks and foundation cracks.
“I didn't like the fact that they were going to take a building that had so many memories for so many people and tear it down,” said Straus.
DISD wants to spend more than $48 million (school bond) to take down the building and build a modern campus. It claims that the foundation has shifted, causing considerable damage. According to a statement released to News 8, the district plans on using some of the original brick and designs to honor the facility’s history.
“This reconstruction will provide a clean, historically accurate image of the original building, and provide the school district with a new facility with a stable, modern, supporting structure for a full lifetime of use," DISD said.
The school's alumni association is hoping to get some grants to pay for their own study of the building's foundation problems. Members told us they have not been able to see the district's building reports.
Preservation Dallas, an organization that brings attention to the city’s most endangered historic places, is supporting the alumni association’s efforts. Its position is that there's no need for a new building and that the district can protect the campus and renovate it at the same time.
“We don't see any reason why DISD can't make Adamson High School a model of 21st century learning,” said Katherine Seale of Preservation Dallas.
Currently, the school is protected until July of next year, but the alumni association is now working on making the school a permanent historic landmark.
“I can't understand why anyone would want to tear this building down and start all over again. It's part of our history, said Adamson Alumni Association president, John Ruiz. “I think it can go another 100 years.”
Full statement from DISD: "Dallas ISD is excited about plans for an updated facility for Adamson High School that will last the next 100 years. The district engaged Corgan Associates, an architectural firm well respected for their expertise in historical renovations, to build on the existing history and move towards the future.
Our goal is to achieve a modern campus, where students are equipped with resources, tools, and technology for a university-level environment, yet honor the school’s proud history. Since the building was constructed early in the 20th Century, the foundation has shifted due to expansive soils, causing considerable damage to the interior and exterior of the building. Corgan Associates, in order to be sensitive to the historic fabric of the city, has proposed and the district has adopted a plan to reconstruct the 1915 building, according to the original specs as well as the 1925 auditorium, utilizing as many architectural elements as possible, including existing brick, decorative cut stone, ornate wooden moldings, trim, and trophy cases. This reconstruction will provide a clean, historically accurate image of the original building, and provide the school district with a new facility with a stable, modern supporting structure for a full lifetime of use."
E-mail mdiaz@wfaa.com.
