Hi Erica. We have a cherished school that developers are now making into condos, and after many other false starts and demolition plans, the project will now maintain the building's facade, so some of the elements you mention will remain in place. For the items we have removed, like a heavy closet door from the building, the fire alarm pull, the main hallway bell, and a handful of physical elements found in the building, we asked the DPW department to do it before the building was sold. With a prior plan, when the building was going to be demolished, I think the building fragments were listed in the demolition company's contract -- as in, they were asked to safely remove and hand over the items in question as their work progressed. Of course, you take the chance that they forget to do it or do it poorly and the fragment/element in question is destroyed. You could hire a specialist to do the job, but it's a question of how much you want to pay to make sure you get those specific items in good condition, Maybe a basketball hoop would serve a similar purpose to the center circle of flooring (and be way easier to remove), and you clean up the circle and take good photos. With good quality mat (or glossy) photo paper on foam core, you could make it look nearly like the floor itself.

In cases like this, it is perhaps not so critical that you save specific items as that you have enough evocative items you can use to tell the story of the school. The objects get you to the stories.

Good luck!

Kathie Gow

Curator, Hatfield Historical Museum hatfieldhistory.weebly.com/

Oral History Producer www.wordspicturesstories.com/

On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 3:56 PM, Erica Travis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi all,

My institution has recently been given the opportunity to acquire some items, either as accessioned objects or exhibit components, from one of the many schools that have shuttered and continue to shutter here in Flint. So much of the school is not salvageable despite having only been closed for about 8-9 years, due to rampant vandalism and poor environmental conditions. Of the various schools that have closed, the community is deeply sentimental about this one in particular, so we have begun to identify certain architectural/design elements that we think we'd like to salvage before it is demolished, including plaster reliefs near the school’s theater/auditorium, the center circle of the basketball court, and possibly some grotesque figures along the roof line (other items may be added to this list at some point). I wondered if any of you out there have gone through a similar process of removing elements from buildings/structures, and what kind of contractors or equipment you felt were essential and/or helpful to do so? I imagine removing the flooring from the basketball court will be less problematic than the figures on the roof line that is over three stories high, but each may require its own set of procedures and necessary equipment. Any insight or routes you could point me in would be greatly appreciated.

Feel free to contact me off-list if you'd prefer.

Thanks in advance,

Erica

Erica Travis
Registrar and Collections Manager
Sloan*Longway
1221 E. Kearsley Street
Flint, MI 48503
[log in to unmask]
ph. 810 237 3435

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