Finney High School demolition

**buildingsofdetroit** · February-25-11, 10:09 PM

http://detroitk12.org/news/article/2241/

News release says demo began at Finney on Thursday. Anyone drive by to see whether it did?

**Gistok** · February-25-11, 11:54 PM

Thanks for the info... will drive by tomorrow to check out the demise of my "old" alma mater...

Is the attached [[via breezeway) Cannon Recreation Center going to stay?

**R8RBOB** · February-26-11, 10:22 AM

I remember going to Finney when I was doing inventory for DPS back 2004-05. In fact, it's weird how I visited many of these schools and now they are now closed.

**Eastside** · February-26-11, 10:49 AM

No work as of Friday around 5:00 ...

**mikefmich** · February-26-11, 03:28 PM

Went to summer school there one year.....1967 I think. Hated the place because of having no clocks in the classrooms.

Will there be anything left in Detroit in 25 years?

**Brian1979** · February-26-11, 04:42 PM

I guess I'll take a drive by there next time I'm in the city. I'm trying to remember where Finney is, isn't that the one off of Cadieux by Chandler Park?

**Whitehouse** · February-26-11, 04:46 PM

This one?

I've seen schools on worse shape than this. [[Mind you, this picture was taken three years ago.)
From Flickr.

Lots more pictures, including indoor here. [[Scroll to the bottom.)

Streetview.

**Gistok** · February-26-11, 08:52 PM

Thanks for the images Whitehouse....

Finney started as a grade school [[the gabled portion) long before it was expanded into a high school back in the early 1960s.

**stasu1213** · February-26-11, 09:17 PM

It amazes me the Finney is being razed but Denby, a much older school, is being renovated.Finney is or was more modern. When a person such as Robert Bobb, an outsider, is allowed to have control over which school should be razed and which should be restore decisions like this are usually made Bobb doesn't have the history of Detroit of it's schools. He just make stupid decisions without listening to the officials who were already here. Granholm, who allowed him to run roughshod, wasn't raised in Detroit either. Dave Bing is another official who wasn't raised in Detroit.These three horsemen/woman of the apocalypse don't care what is being razed and what is being saved. Their decision had been so anit-people of Detroit it makes an individual's head spin out of control

**xphillipjrx** · February-27-11, 02:23 AM

My dad taught there for 10 years.

**jerrytimes** · February-27-11, 03:53 AM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

It amazes me the Finney is being razed but Denby, a much older school, is being renovated.Finney is or was more modern. When a person such as Robert Bobb, an outsider, is allowed to have control over which school should be razed and which should be restore decisions like this are usually made Bobb doesn't have the history of Detroit of it's schools. He just make stupid decisions without listening to the officials who were already here. Granholm, who allowed him to run roughshod, wasn't raised in Detroit either. Dave Bing is another official who wasn't raised in Detroit.These three horsemen/woman of the apocalypse don't care what is being razed and what is being saved. Their decision had been so anit-people of Detroit it makes an individual's head spin out of control

And do you think that the people of Detroit have done a good job? They are who is responsible for what has happened here. This school is being raised and is also being replaced with a brand new state of the art high school. While Im not one who likes to see nothing saved, it definitely helps a school district succeed when they have brand new school for their students to go to. If I'm correct, wasn't this school erected in the 20's? I know that parts have been added on since, but the origination of this building is over 80 years old.

**mikefmich** · February-27-11, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

It amazes me the Finney is being razed but Denby, a much older school, is being renovated.Finney is or was more modern. When a person such as Robert Bobb, an outsider, is allowed to have control over which school should be razed and which should be restore decisions like this are usually made Bobb doesn't have the history of Detroit of it's schools. He just make stupid decisions without listening to the officials who were already here. Granholm, who allowed him to run roughshod, wasn't raised in Detroit either. Dave Bing is another official who wasn't raised in Detroit.These three horsemen/woman of the apocalypse don't care what is being razed and what is being saved. Their decision had been so anit-people of Detroit it makes an individual's head spin out of control

From a historical standpoint, I'd rather see them drop Finney 3 times than Denby once.

**Gistok** · February-27-11, 02:32 PM

Originally Posted by jerrytimes

And do you think that the people of Detroit have done a good job? They are who is responsible for what has happened here. This school is being raised and is also being replaced with a brand new state of the art high school. While Im not one who likes to see nothing saved, it definitely helps a school district succeed when they have brand new school for their students to go to. If I'm correct, wasn't this school erected in the 20's? I know that parts have been added on since, but the origination of this building is over 80 years old.

Ummm.... 20% of the building is 80 years old... the other 80% was built in the 1960s and 1970s.

**Rochelle St.** · February-27-11, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by Brian1979

I guess I'll take a drive by there next time I'm in the city. I'm trying to remember where Finney is, isn't that the one off of Cadieux by Chandler Park?

It's at Cadieux and E.Warren.

**Danny** · February-28-11, 09:40 AM

Wait til Detroit Public Schools get PRIVATIZED!!! Just like the DPS School Bus Terminals. See what the DFT Unions be whining and crying over eductional services for our children, the we will see the results.

**Brian1979** · February-28-11, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by Rochelle St.

It's at Cadieux and E.Warren.

I use to know where all the High School's in the city were but it's been awhile and I couldn't remember exactly where Finney was. I knew it was on the eastside though.

**Krawlspace** · February-28-11, 03:48 PM

Demo began on Friday morning.
Adamo appears to be the General.
As of this morning, this is how far they have progressed:

**Detroitnerd** · February-28-11, 04:12 PM

Well, what's good for Adamo must be good for Detroit ...

**jerrytimes** · February-28-11, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Ummm.... 20% of the building is 80 years old... the other 80% was built in the 1960s and 1970s.

So what's your point. That means that the newest parts of the building are 40 years old, and are attached to parts that are 50 or more years old. If you want to make DPS better, you need better, modern schools with teachers that care and parents that care. I'm 31. The newest part of Finney was built before my parents were even married in 1977.

People in the city can't be pleased. They want things to be nicer, yet heaven forbid that a high school gets replaced with a new school [[Cass?!?!?!?!) and Finney. I don't understand the logic.

**BVos** · March-01-11, 09:31 PM

There are a lot of school districts that keep their buildings and properly maintain them and update them over the years. Grosse Pointe schools are made up of primarily historic buildings, many dating from the 20s-40s, and they're all in full functioning use today and remain true to their original architectural design with no plans for demolition. Many/most of the GP schools are similar in design to many of the schools being demolished in Detroit. In fact, many of the Detroit schools had far better materials and far more amenities than the GP schools did when they were originally built. So old means nothing with school buildings and the quality of education delivered. It's how the buildings are maintained and updated that matters.

**M CD M** · March-01-11, 10:24 PM

So will Cannon Community Center also fall with Finney?

Also on the section shown in the photo above.

The tornado/civil defense siren was on that section.
Wonder if the city will place a new one, unless they forgot about it.
All the new ones are on FD's, and 4 are on poles, now 3 years and still not powered.

**oladub** · March-02-11, 03:36 AM

I went to Finney in ninth grade. There was no 12th grade yet at Finney as the school was adding one grade a year as it was being expanded. It consequently seems bizarre to me that a 'new' building is being torn down. Older buildings I went to school in are still standing.

When I was a child, my Father used the woodworking equipment in the Cannon recreation shoproom once a week and my parents went square dancing there. Good question M CD M; is cannon coming down too?

Whitehouse, can you think of any 40 year old schools that were torn down in Holland?

**Khartoum** · March-02-11, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by jerrytimes

So what's your point. That means that the newest parts of the building are 40 years old, and are attached to parts that are 50 or more years old. If you want to make DPS better, you need better, modern schools with teachers that care and parents that care. I'm 31. The newest part of Finney was built before my parents were even married in 1977.

People in the city can't be pleased. They want things to be nicer, yet heaven forbid that a high school gets replaced with a new school [[Cass?!?!?!?!) and Finney. I don't understand the logic.

Why does a modern school lead to caring teachers & parents? Are the parents/teachers at the new Cass Tech more caring because they teach and drop their kids off at a glass building instead of a stone one? Is $46.3 million best spent tearing down a working school just to rebuild it?

**Whitehouse** · March-02-11, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by oladub

Whitehouse, can you think of any 40 year old schools that were torn down in Holland?

Seeing that my profession is working for a ground serveying company... Yes.

But the examples I know have similar story like this particular school; replacing it with a new one. The reason is maybe a bit different. This school is probably too big for the ammount of students that attend it. The schools that are torn down over here are usually too small.

This one in The Hague [[the beige building) is still standing but not for long. I think it was build in 1982.

View on the opposite end. [[The google car could not drive across, it's a pedestrian area.)

I don't particularly like what they will replace it with, though the current building is not spectacular either.

Here's another example. Also in The Hague. This school is from the same period. Late seventies, early eaghties. With newer parts added. This will also go down for a bigger building.

This one is a bit older.. This is in the village of Voorschoten, north east of The Hague. The right part dates back to the late sixties. The left part is much younger, but from the drawings I've seen they could possibly retain that part. The main building will be knocked down.

From the same period, this example. Hidden from view by the trees, but this school is also about 40 to 50 years old and will be demolished. Evidently this school is simply too small. There are temporary classes on site.

**Hypestyles** · March-02-11, 02:36 PM

will the gym be on the 1st floor instead of the [[2nd or 3rd?) floor now?

how will the school function with students and staff during construction/renovation?