Historic Gym Facing Demolition: Petition Begun to Save 1927 Building

By Dave Freneaux
    At last Monday night’s meeting, the Central Community School Board unanimously passed a resolution that the 1927 gym, Central’s oldest and last remaining public historic building, will be demolished if fund-raising and renovation plans are not in place in the next four weeks.
    A petition has been started to ask the School Board to give citizens the time needed to save this piece of Central’s history.  It can be accessed on Facebook at “Save Central’s Historic Gym” or by clicking the ad on CentralSpeaks.com.
    The Central Cultural Foundation is continuing its efforts to save the historic gym from becoming just another memory, but supporters are very concerned about the new deadline established by the School Board to prepare a very specific plan to restore and maintain the gym.  The School Board has not yet revealed its plans for the old Middle School site, which includes the 1927 gym.
    The vision is to restore the gym, which is structurally sound and in excellent condition, and create a History Museum and Cultural Center for the Central community.  The 5,000 square foot facility would be the home to Central’s Historical Society as well as providing exhibition, meeting and performance space in support of the arts in Central. 
    Across the country, many other communities and local governing bodies have come together to preserve similar historical buildings to enhance their civic pride and quality of life.
    In May the Central Community School Board asked the Central Cultural Foundation, to put the “Save the Gym” efforts on hold until a decision was made on the eventual use of the property at Hooper and Sullivan.  The School Board is scheduled to make that decision at the September 9th meeting, but is now asking for a fully funded plan in place by that same date.

    At the May 11 meeting, Jon Simmons, one of the original committee members to form Central’s School System, and CCF Chairman Dave Freneaux, spoke on behalf of the group who organized an effort to save the gym.  
    Freneaux expressed confidence that the community would rise to the occasion and join together to make this project a success, but that four weeks was simply not enough time to meet the requirements laid out by the School Board.
    Supporters are hopeful that a petition from the citizens may sway the School Board to reconsider its decision and allow the citizens an opportunity to save this nearly century-old building from demolition.
    Several School Board members stated that their hesitance to support the restoration project was partly based on not hearing a “public outcry” to save the building, despite supporters’ assurance that there is indeed widespread sentiment to do so.