The OES visited Parsons School on February 9, 2002, and again on December 7, 2003. The abandoned school stood in the middle of a neighborhood in far south Columbus. Parsons School was built in 1960, with additions and improvements made in 1969 and 1975. Used as an elementary school during the baby boomer years, Parson School closed permanently in 1979. All of the students were relocated to either Scioto Trail Elementary or Stockbridge Elementary. On our original visit in 2002, we were told that the school had an alarm system and that any attempts to enter the building would send police. So instead of going inside, we walked the entire perimeter of the school. Based on our observations from the outside, the building’s structure seemed to be in decent shape. While the graffiti was to be expected, we thought the interior was probably well preserved, maybe even like a time capsule, due to the excellent boarding up of the school. We were wrong.
We returned to Parson School on December 7, 2003, after learning that a section of sheet metal had been torn down, making it possible to enter the building. Upon entering, it quickly became evident that the interior was not very well preserved at all. All of the original ceiling tiles had been torn out when asbestos was removed from the school in the early 1990s. Water damage was prevalent throughout the school, and holes were scattered about the roof. The stage in the auditorium / gymnasium / cafeteria was rotten, along with the piano sitting on it. Graffiti covered the walls inside the building as it had on the outside. Most of the classrooms were built in the same style, all having a sink with a built-in drinking fountain. Other than those items, most of the rooms were empty. Many of the restroom fixtures had been broken and busted by vandals, as well as the chalkboards and some windows. While the walls seemed to be in good shape, the entire roof would have needed to be replaced and the insides gutted if the school were ever to be used again.
In 2002, voters passed an issue for Columbus Public Schools to build new school buildings or update existing buildings. It was decided that Parsons School would be razed to make way for a new school to replace the historic Scioto Trail Elementary School on South High Street (built in 1927) and nearby Stockbridge Elementary School. These were the very schools where Parsons students were reassigned when it closed over two decades prior. In early January 2005, a demolition crew razed the old Parsons School so new construction could begin. The new Parsons School opened in August 2006 with 58,000 square feet that included seventeen classrooms, two kindergarten rooms, two preschool rooms, a gymnasium, cafeteria, art room, music room, media center, and administration offices. All that remains of the original Parsons School are the photos here and the memories of the baby boomers who attended class there in the short 19 years it served the community. The new Parsons Elementary School will provide new memories for generations to come.
Location Information: Demolished
Parsons School was located on Lee Ellen Place in Columbus; Franklin County.
Photographs
Parsons School as seen from Lee Ellen Place, the road in front of the school.
The main entrance of the school.
The sign once read "Parsons School," but someone had knocked off a few letters.
This doorway led to the front hallway.
This door led to the main hallway on the north side of the school.
And this door led to the rear hallway on the north side.
The back side of the school.
Pieces of broken chalkboard littered the ground behind the school.
This was the playground where kids would enjoy recess.
It was very overgrown during our visit. No one would want to play there now.
The old tetherball pole still had its chain intact.
The metal framing for the basketball backboard and hoop.
This door slightly below ground level led to the boiler room.
This doorway on the south side led to the rear hallway.
And this door led to the main hallway.
This is where the large piece of sheet metal had been torn down. It led to the rear hallway.
A small maintenance shed was in the corner of the playground.
This junk engine was on the other side of the playground.
A small utility shack in front of the school.
An architect's rendering of what the new Parsons School may look like.
Looking down the rear hallway from our entry point.
To the left was an opening to the outside.
Facing the hallway from inside a classroom.
In this photo of the rear hallway, you can see the extensive damage to the roof.
The entrance to a classroom at the south end of the rear hallway.
You can see where the chalkboards once hung on the wall.
The coat rack was in decent shape.
Every room had a sink with built-in drinking fountains. This one had been smashed.
Another classroom in the back hallway.
This classroom was flooded even though it hadn't rained in days.
This place is usually boarded up so tight that you can't even see light coming through the windows.
Cubbies and hooks where students could store their personal belongings during class.
The doorways to Room 16 and the adjacent classroom.
A fire hose cabinet was installed in every hallway, including this one in the back hall.
These two classrooms were connected through this opening.
There were lots of shelves in this large room. Perhaps it was the library.
Whatever this room served as, it had its own restroom.
The school bells along the nice 1970s paint job on the wall.
The entrance to the rear boy's restroom.
The restroom wasn't too big, just two urinals and a toilet.
The sinks were totally busted. Their remains were on the floor.
The clock in this classroom was stopped at 9:39.
The doorway to the rear girls restroom.
The stalls in the girl's room had been vandalized, of course.
The sinks in the girls room were somewhat intact.
This was the front hallway of the school.
This door led to the outside in front of the building.
Inside one of the classrooms off of the front hallway of the school.
This classroom contained the only remaining lockers in the school.
All of the chalkboards in the classrooms off the front hallway were still intact.
Many of the classrooms of the front hallway were also slightly flooded.
Large shelving units were on the floor of every classroom.
Graffiti and vandalism had not reached these classrooms for some reason.
A classroom doorway.
Looking to the east down the middle hallway.
It appeared that doors once divided the hallway.
This closet or storage cabinet was across the hall from the boiler room.
This small restroom was just off of the hallway.
The classrooms connected to the middle hallway were slightly larger than the others.
The chalkboards were missing from these rooms as well.
Piles of junk were typical in all of the classrooms.
Notice the change of color on the wall near the ceiling. Where the white meets dark is where a drop ceiling once hung.
The boiler room was located off of the middle hallway.
Inside the boiler.
This was probably some sort of heater.
The gauges remained intact on the old pipes.
There was a large hole in the roof of the boiler room.
The health room was on the opposite side of the hallway from the boiler room.
The health room was pretty small.
The health room's toilet almost looked new.
Looking to the south down the main hallway from the middle hallway.
Looking to the north in the main hallway.
The windows that are boarded up at the main entrance of the school.
Another view of the hallway looking to the north.
This large round sink sat in a common area between the restrooms.
The entrance to the boys room.
The main boys restroom ported the trough style urinals.
The main girls restroom was completely busted.
This was the main office for the school.
This was the back room of the office. Perhaps it was a supply room or mail room.
This could have been the principal's office.
Records may have been stored in this room.
This clock controlled the bells between the classes and recess.
The shelves located in the supply or mail room.
The Projects Room was just across from the multipurpose auditorium.
The projects room was not as large as the average classroom.
A nice painting of the United States flag was on the wall of the main hallway.
A fire hose and extinguisher box was in the main hallway.
This was one of the only drinking fountains left in all of the hallways. It was located just outside the gym.
This was the style of heating register that was used in many of the halls.
This storage closet was near the main restrooms.
The auditorium entrance from the main hallway.
This huge room also served as the cafeteria and gymnasium.
This basketball hoop in the gym was the only one that was still in place.
Looking from the auditorium to the main hallway.
This photo from the stage shows where the other basketball hoop was.
The wall of this back hall to the stage was lined with hooks.
A small restroom was just off of the back hallway.
This was the gym's storage room, where various sports equipment was stored.
This was the stage for the auditorium.
As you can see, the stage was pretty rotted and had even collapsed in some areas.
An old rotted piano was tipped over on the stage.
The old curtains still hung from the ceiling above the stage.
The kitchen consisted of nothing more than cabinets, shelves and a sink.
This oven was used to heat the meals that were prepared at the food services building downtown.
The following photos were taken in January 2005 when Parsons School was demolished.
A large excavator sat in front of the school.
Demolition of the small utility building.
The large pine tree that stood for so many years was toppled.
