I saw an exhibit at the Broad Museum which included displays from minority communities in Lansing. This included some photos and stories about the building of 496. They displayed a story about the video "They Even Took the Dirt" about the neighborhood that was taken down for the highway. I know the video had been around for a while, but this is the first time I saw it. I was just a kid, but the pictures really sparked my memories. The west side was mainly black folks [not all] but it was not a slum by any means. It was really very nice. It is sad to think of what a racist community Lansing was. Check it out if you have not.
This shows Logan Street looking north. It is interesting to see that all the cars in this photo are American! There is a badass Camaro next to a Firebird, behind a Cutlass. Those early safety bumpers on the Olds look like an afterthought. It still kind of hurts to see pictures of this area, to me they removed my Lansing to build a couple of under used highways. It is funny but I still have dreams about walking around the neighborhood were all the houses are gone except for one or two on each block, in my dream I feel lost.
I wish I'd thought to post here sooner to bring attention to others, but the Westside Neighborhood Association (WNA) put on a walking tour of Sexton today, which was absolutely wonderful. It sounds like they want to have additional tours, focused on specific features of the building, so keep and eye out for future ones (if you're interested). Based on the presence of the HSGL, I can only assume they partnered with them. It was a great opportunity to tour a very important historical structure in our community.
I hadn't been inside for probably 20+ years. Given its age, it's really held up well. I just hope upcoming projects don't completely remove the historical aspects that have managed to survive for so many years.
I'll post something on here if I hear of future dates. I don't expect it to be anytime soon since they just had this one.
Yes, I'm glad they have plans for it. I just worry they're going to ruin original features that remain. That auditorium is near original, architecturally. It's slated for renovation. I don't expect them to do a historical renovation of the space. They're going to do whatever is most affordable.
I'd love to see the windows restored to the original appearance which gave it a much more vertical feel. The "energy saving" renovation decades ago ruined the appearance on the exterior and feel on the interior.
To be quite honest, while I said it's held up given its age, the truth is, $11 million isn't enough for that building. I've worked on a lot of schools, and that's nothing. Hopefully we can keep getting bonds passed that help maintain the remaining historic schools. I still hate how many of them they're tearing down. Primarily Lewton and Mt Hope. (Since Eastern wasn't technically on their watch)
I attended JW Sexton High School in the early '70s, after attending the modern '60s Dwight Rich JHS which also had some nice features, like a sunken garden around a huge oak tree in the front and another garden in the center or building. The auditorium has also very nice, Sexton seemed quite different, like a step up from the junior high. The art tiled halls had large mosaics on the floors at each end of the hallways. The restrooms had marble stalls and urinals! The gym was lit by the natural light of the wall of windows on the north side. The auditorium has a classic deep and tall stage area that can accommodate large productions, and the base reliefs on the outside are really beautiful. There was a classic band and orchestra room with a multi-level seating circle so the band leader/teacher could lead from the center of the class. There was an auto-shop, a woodshop, a home economics room with thirty stoves, a natural science room with a beautiful green house on the west side, and fully equipped art classrooms which were the only classrooms on the fourth floor. We used cast jewelry and fire pots up there. I did feel like the building was special when I went there and for the most part it still is. By the way the new Mt. Hope School is looking quite nice, although there are some odd blue square "portholes" sticking out of the facade.
@gbdinlansing, you summed up a lot of wonderful features that stuck with a lot of people after attending Sexton. You actually may have been there in the same years as my aunt, but I know class sizes were pretty large back then! You'd never see a school spend the money on such "frivolous" things as they did when Sexton was built. That clock tower alone would have been "value engineered" in the schematic design phase lol.
I went to Dwight Rich for awhile and appreciated the building, even as a sixth grader. It's a very nice example of its style. I was there before it recieved much needed renovations.
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@Lymon89 Thanks for the compliments
I'll post something on here if I hear of future dates. I don't expect it to be anytime soon since they just had this one.
I'd love to see the windows restored to the original appearance which gave it a much more vertical feel. The "energy saving" renovation decades ago ruined the appearance on the exterior and feel on the interior.
To be quite honest, while I said it's held up given its age, the truth is, $11 million isn't enough for that building. I've worked on a lot of schools, and that's nothing. Hopefully we can keep getting bonds passed that help maintain the remaining historic schools. I still hate how many of them they're tearing down. Primarily Lewton and Mt Hope. (Since Eastern wasn't technically on their watch)
I went to Dwight Rich for awhile and appreciated the building, even as a sixth grader. It's a very nice example of its style. I was there before it recieved much needed renovations.