Iowa school board votes to tear down historic building


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OSAGE, Iowa (AP) — The Osage School Board has voted to tear down the last of the historic Cedar Valley Seminary buildings to make way for an expansion on the Lincoln Elementary School site.

The vote earlier this month was unanimous, The Mason City Globe Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/1GA34IY ).

Mary Hanke, of Stacyville, urged the board members to save the building and to consider historic grants that could help restore it. She cited a study by historic building restorer Rudy Christian, who toured the building late last year, that found the building to be sound and determined it could be used with proper maintenance and restoration.

"It would be a tragedy if the building was destroyed," Hanke said. "What the building needs is a purpose."

She suggested it could be used to house an art gallery or quilting rooms.

But board members said no one had come forward to offer to move the building. Board President Konnie Snider said the Iowa Department of Education would not allow the district to use its own funds to move the building and that the board "followed an open and due process" in reaching its decision.

"It is tough love," board member Doug Lang said.

Known in its heyday as "Old Central," the 1869 building was the anchor for what was considered a college preparatory school. Eventually, all other buildings in the complex were torn down after the seminary closed.

The Osage School District retained ownership of the building, which was used for classes until 1966. In 1977, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Demolition is expected to begin this spring and wrap up in August.

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Information from: Globe Gazette, http://www.globegazette.com/

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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