Tag Adaptive reuse

Yorktown Middle School: A farewell to familiar grounds

Ted Shideler 2 Comments
Read time: 9 min.

I’m in a lot of local history groups on social media. Some of the most poignant posts come from people who’ve made the bittersweet realization that all the schools they once attended have been demolished. If that’s all it takes to become a graybeard, I’m well on my way- at least sort of. In 2020, a big chunk of Yorktown Middle School was torn down. A new building occupies the site today.

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Chesterfield’s school still serves a civic purpose

Ted Shideler Leave a comment
Read time: 4 min.

I’m not sure what role the cockles of my heart play in my everyday life, but they’re certainly warmed whenever I see an old school repurposed into something new. It’s been more than thirty years since students walked its halls, the old Chesterfield Grade School was repurposed to house the town’s police department and civic center around the turn of the century. I love it! Cockles, consider yourselves warmed.

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Abandoned Marsh: Burlington Drive in Muncie

Ted Shideler 2 Comments
Read time: < 1 min.

Other supermarkets had been remodeled into this format, but the Marsh supermarket on Burlington Drive in Muncie opened in 1977 as the company’s first “Combo” outlet to feature a built-in drug store. It closed forty years later. The supermarket was demolished after it closed to make way for a housing project. Near the end, the drug wing was converted to a Family Dollar.

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Center Township’s Independence schoolhouse in Hancock County

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Read time: 2 min.

Center Township’s District 6 schoolhouse is one of Hancock County’s oldest institutions. Known as Forest Academy in 1860, the building was home to the first county teacher’s association1! Its replacement was built in 18892 in the “Woodbine District3.” Eventually, residents and patrons began referring to the place as the “Independent” or “Independence” school.

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Resilience and renewal at the old school in Mays

Ted Shideler 2 Comments
Read time: 7 min.

Two rural schools nestled in the heart of the Rush County countryside are stark studies in contrast. The weathered tower of the Washington Township Public School in Raleigh is a sad reminder of the ebb and flow of rural life. A stone’s throw away, the Center Township Grade & High School in neighboring Mays stands as a beacon of hope and renewal.

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The mystery chapel of Silver Lake

Ted Shideler Leave a comment
Read time: 3 min.

Last November, my mom and I found ourselves hurtling through the countryside chasing old Long Line towers in Northern Indiana. As we zoomed toward Angola from LaGrange, a weathered schoolhouse caught my eye. I fumbled with my trusty Lumix for a shot, but it wasn’t until we pulled into a Love’s Travel Stop that I got a second chance at a decent picture.

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