Ohio University [not to be confused with THE Ohio State University] has angered local preservationists [both of them?] by resuming plans to demolish a nearly 90-year-old building on campus.
The Athens County Historical Society and Museum has been trying to persuade the university to spare what it calls a historically significant structure and find some other use for it [sounds worthwhile].
“Building 26,” as it’s called [don't most historically relevant buildings have better names than 'Builsing 26'? Like Munson House or University Hall?], was first a tuberculosis ward [or TB hall?] connected to a mental hospital started shortly after the Civil War and later a school for people with developmental disabilities.
[Alright time for some math--and really, what's a good post without math?--the building is 'nearly 90 years old.' For the benefit of the doubt, let's call it 90. 2013-90 is 1923--shortly after the first war to end all wars (WWI). How then was 'Building 26' connected to a mental hospital shortly after the Civil War which ended in 1865--58 years earlier? By that logic, President Obama was elected shortly after World War II.]
The university put plans to raze the building on hold last year but announced this week that it will be demolished next month.
The building is empty, and OU has said it is an “attractive nuisance” [so are my kids, but I don't plan to get rid of them with a bulldozer] frequently subject to trespassing and vandalism, often by students who have heard ghost stories about it. The school got $300,000 from the state to help pay for its demolition.
via www.dispatch.com
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