THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 12, 1995 TAG: 9501120151
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 142 lines
IT'S NOT THAT FOLKS in Suffolk condone graffiti. And no one really puts much faith in some unknown vandal with a can of white paint and a brush.
But when somebody scrawled a giant message at the foot of the granite steps at the end of Saratoga Street, generations of dyed-in-the-wool Suffolkians likely hoped it was prophetic.
``Suffolk High Will Never Die,'' the artist wrote in 2-foot letters, painted on the street in front of the abandoned Suffolk High School building.
At least in spirit, that may well be true.
Since it opened in 1923, the city's namesake high school has enjoyed an enduring affinity among the home-grown locals. City Council members, lawyers, cops - hundreds of residents who still make the city their home have copies of the Suffolk High annual in their attics.
More than four years after it closed, the spirit of Suffolk High has, in many ways, survived.
But the future of the school building itself isn't nearly so secure.
The heating system is shot. All the exterior wood - the windows, the molding, the doors - is rotted beyond repair. The roof leaks; many windows are smashed.
Poor plumbing has backed up, leaving puddles in the hallways and sewage in the boys and girls restrooms.
And the old Suffolk High is loaded with asbestos, all of which would have to be removed if the building were ever used again. Its three stories are all but impossible to navigate in a wheelchair, another deficiency that would have to be corrected.
Every few months, in council meetings or just City Hall gossip, possible uses for the aging building are bandied about: School Board offices. A courthouse. Storage.
Plans aren't likely to develop that would lead to demolishing Suffolk High anytime soon, but city officials have never committed themselves to saving the structure. And as for finding a government use for it, they've all but given up.
``Right now, we're probably looking at a couple of million dollars just to bring it up to code,'' said Assistant City Manager Jim Vacalis.
``If it costs $80 or $90 a square foot to renovate it, you could build a new building for that. I don't think the city can do anything with the building right now, unless we pour a lot of money into it.''
The city doesn't have a lot of money.
So before the end of the year, officials plan to seek proposals from private businesses to see if any can devise some use for the old school.
The 72-year-old building isn't the only empty relic in the city's real estate inventory. The old jail off Constance Road is used only sparingly and will likely be demolished, city officials say. And buildings at the old King's Fork School have likewise outlived their worth.
Students haven't roamed the halls of Suffolk High since 1990, when the school was closed as part of a citywide consolidation of high schools.
But few structures in the city - even ones in use - stir as many souls and put lumps in as many throats as the tapestry-brick colossus on Saratoga Street.
``If any building can be saved, it will be Suffolk High,'' Vacalis said.
Structurally, the building is sound. Thanks to early 20th century craftsmanship - and barring a wrecking ball - it will probably keep standing for decades to come.
But other than small areas still used for storage, most of the building's interior is dirty and tattered. The windows and doors are covered with boards.
The classrooms in the basement are littered with old televisions, typewriters, science equipment and other hardware. None of it is in working order. Old cafeteria tables and gym equipment - most of the metal rusty or bent - clog the halls.
The auditorium and the top floor are in relatively good condition, but moldy books, stacks of old paper and dank-smelling rugs litter the floors.
Workers sweep the floors once a year - about how long it takes for them to become littered with paint chips and ceiling tiles.
Any renovation project would have to include a new heating and cooling system.
Periodic repairs have been made to the roof, which has been blamed for damage inside from leaks. A new roof would also be needed for the building to pass inspection.
And unlike years past, when a disabled student kept a wheelchair on each floor and had to be carried up and down the steps, these days the building would need ramps or an elevator.
All the exterior wood would have to be replaced; so would the windows and doors.
A new electrical system. New plumbing. New fixtures.
If you had to build a new structure from scratch, Suffolk High might well be a good thing to start with. But you'd be left with a spruced-up old building - for the cost of a new one.
It was that dilemma that derailed plans by the School Board to consolidate its administrative offices there. After years of debate - and the dissolution of a special committee named to ponder the building's fate - the school system gave the building and its three acres of land to the city.
``It's been a comedy of errors,'' said Andy Damiani, a former mayor and once a local champion of the save-the-school cause. ``That building's reinforced concrete will outlast all the new schools in the city - unless they let it crumble from the inside.''
So far, the City Council has no more answers than the School Board did.
For a lot of Suffolk High graduates, there's only one answer: anything that will keep the building standing.
``It's not even because I went to school there, I just think we need to start worrying about keeping these buildings - for history's sake,'' said Robert N. Baker, a former School Board member and 1963 Suffolk High graduate.
It was Baker who, distraught over the city's plan four years ago to demolish the 18th century home of city forefather John Constant, bought the building and had it moved behind his downtown funeral home.
``The city would have demolished that building just like they did the old market building,'' said Baker, referring to the former City Hall and market on Main Street that was razed in the 1960s.
``We need to preserve our history,'' he said. ``We shouldn't be tearing it down.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
A SLOW DEATH
[Color Photo]
Staff photos by John H. Sheally II
Assistant City Manager Jim Vacalis examines the boiler room of the
school, which is now city property. The heating system is shot.
The floor of a former classroom is littered with paint chips that
have fallen from the ceiling and old books.
Empty lockers stand ajar along a hallway of Suffolk High School,
which shut its doors in 1990. The only sound down the walkway that
once bustled with students is from the footsteps of Assistant City
Manager Jim Vacalis and a reporter. The city hopes private
businesses will propose new uses for the 72-year-old building.
A list of Suffolk High's last honor roll students still hangs
outside the school office.
A couple of desks and a basketball are the only signs that remain of
the activity that used to bring the Suffolk High gymnasium to life
each school day. City officials estimate it would cost a couple of
million to bring the deteriorating building up to code.
by CNB