Local History #tbt Blog - Its Walls May Perish, But the Words Will Linger

Reportedly, its time is almost up.

The stately old building on Girard Avenue that once housed Middletown High School and other grades soon will be reduced to a mound of bricks and mortar.

As it awaits a date with a demolition crew, the grand structure stands shuttered behind metal fencing.

But there’s still time to pay your respects.

Drive by. Take some photos. Reminisce. And ponder the words carved into its imposing structure, high above the street so that all could see:

“For Physical and Moral Education As Well As Education of the Mind”

“For the Development of a Wiser and Nobler Type of Citizenship”

“That All Our Youth May Have a Broader and Richer Personal Life”

“Religion and Education Are The Safeguards of Our Nation”

“Let Music, Art, and Oratory Abound Within”

Completed in 1923 at a cost of over one million dollars, the magnificent building was hailed as “one of the most expensive and finest schools in the state at that time.” (*)

It’s reported to be the oldest school building in Butler County.

Throughout the decades it’s housed high schoolers and freshman-only and middle school-only classes. It’s seen its share of scholarship, athletic glory, grand theater, stirring music, works of art and, most importantly, impressive young citizens.

Today middle and high school students in Middletown, Ohio, attend a modern school/athletic complex on Breiel Boulevard.

The “Middie Magic” lives on.

Source:

* A Brief History of the Middletown City School  District 1800 to 1987” by Norman M. Hayes