Clean Up of Annie Lytle School Continues This Weekend

[iloveionia]

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead

I love the line "everyone picks a battle" and Tim, this is a great and important one to have picked.
The school looks great. Keep the passion going strong.

[Timkin]

Thank you , Ionia!   It is nice to get a compliment such as yours .   I commend your group and choice of battles as well.  The work your group has done is so important to the Springfield neighborhoods.   It inspires me .   I hope when this is all said and done we finally after 3 decades will have an old Schoolhouse that serves a useful purpose and something the community can be proud of.

Thank you again so much !

[Timkin]

Unfortunately , last minute , I will not be able to attend the cleanup tomorrow ( August 11 ) .  If you have a H/H agreement and wish to work there tomorrow, feel free.   I will be there next Saturday, August 18.   

[JewelRose]

Hello,

I want to help out! How can I get involved?

Sincerely,

Jennifer

[Timkin]

Hi Jennifer .. Private message me for details . Thank you

[Timkin]

And as we enter our fourth month of the Cleanup of the Annie Lytle School and grounds, we have finally, with the hard work , and commitment of our stellar volunteer team, come to a point where we are wanting to begin an extensive cleanup of the School's interior, obviously starting right at the front door and working our way in.

It has been some time since I have posted pictures of our progress..at some point I will post before and afters. 

We always welcome more volunteers.   As we enter this stage of the cleanup, it would be safe to say, we cannot get enough hands, equipment, trucks, trash cans, trash bags, etc.   Anyone familiar with the School knows the interior is pretty well in ruins and our goal is to remove what obviously would have to be removed to renovate, leaving the intact features that have not been destroyed ( there is not much) .  We would like for the end result to be the building, minus the debris, hopefully even with a coat of paint covering the years and years of graffiti, so that some prospect can see what is actually there and what has to be done to renovate.  We feel even if the School had been intact, such as John Gorrie was before its renovation, that it would have to be "gutted" to be renovated anyway.  So in a way, the vandalism over the years has helped accomplish that.   We want to continue to turn its course.


We welcome anyone who cares to help.

[Timkin]

5 months in  to the cleanup , the results are dramatic and I invite anyone who wishes to ,to drive by and see the difference.

Tomorrow (Saturday)  We are commencing cleanup of the interior starting at the front entrance.  Initially we will clean up trash and sort trash from recyclable materials.

It has been an inspiring journey on this cleanup and  every volunteer has been wonderful and so helpful in making this monumental task possible. In particular, Ralph W has been the most amazing volunteer and has put his time in during the week , clearing the courtyards of debris, the back yard of the brush and accumulation for weekend volunteers to put to the Street.

I regret that I have not posted pictures of late, and would invite anyone interested to come take them and post them.

We look forward to continuing our progress on the building.   Thanks for reading  

[Spence]

Looking marvelous!

How do you feel about the planned dog park?

what next for the clean-up?
From what I have gathered, I need to sign a form or three in order to be in compliance with the legal matters before entering the fence line surrounding the (beautiful) old school?

[Timkin]

Thanks!


I am all for the Dog Park.  Anything would look better than a sand bed underneath the approaches to the bridge, decorated here and there, with trash.

This coming Saturday. Cleanups are usually every Saturday. Thank you for your interest.  Was beginning to wonder if anyone reads or cares .

Yes.  a hold-harmless is required.  That was the only way the owners would allow us to do the work .

[spuwho]

Jacksonville isn't the only city trying to figure out what to do with its school landmarks.

Dallas has the same issue with Dallas High School/Crozier Tech.  Situated on Bryan Street in the downtown and with the St Paul DART station in front, it has been largely ignored over the years even though it sits in one of the busiest sections of town.



The full story and background on what Dallas is trying to do is here:

http://www.nbcdfw.com/the-scene/real-estate/Shells-of-Our-City---Dallas-High-School--Crozier-Tech-53192282.html

I noticed it while riding DART to work I was doing in Dallas.

[mardawer]

My husband and I want to sign up to help clean up Annie Lytle School. I can't figure out how to volunteer, if someone could contact me, please.

[tufsu1]

you should contact Timkin through this site (pm)

[billy]

Anyone in contact with the owner recently?

[Timkin]

You can contact myself , Dog Walker, or Ralph W  any time on this site for information on the cleanups.   We hope to resume shortly.

The Riverside Resident has published a recent article on the cleanup effort, which provides contact information as well.  We certainly welcome and appreciate everyone's compliments and volunteer efforts.

With regard to communication with the building's owner,  efforts for that have rendered little response from the owner, which is disheartening.

(EDIT)  Asleep at the switch earlier..  Riverside Resident 

[BIG CHEESE 723]

We were there today for about an hour or more.  The girls, 11 and 10 did a good job.  And, Tim, they WANT to go back and do more!  I got a fw pics. of them.  They were inspired!