I started in the 1962 1963 school year I think anyway. The first year they opened Andy cottage other than Blair those were the only 2 cottages. The others wasn't even built until after that. The gym was open that year also I believe. I find it interesting that the oldest building on the campus is the one they are saving. The main building. All I can say it is a shame & very sad. From: msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Fred Wurtzel Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2014 4:52 PM To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [msb-alumni] Re: Demolition Underway at Former Michigan School for the Blind Hi, I agree with all those who talk about our extended family. I'm still very sad to know what is happening. Some blind kids get good educations in their home districts, while others are truly suffering for lack of good role models, lack of Braille books and ignorance of blindness. I also think it is interesting that the cottages weren't there when I got there and are already gone. Our Boy Scout troop camped out there where Long House used to be. I wonder about our values as a society to think of such waste. Warmest Regards, Fred From: msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jim in Detroit Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2014 7:18 PM To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [msb-alumni] Re: Demolition Underway at Former Michigan School for the Blind I didn't even finish reading that article; it was pitiful. From: Chris Rasmussen <mailto:chrisnzella@xxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: April 04, 2014 08:49 To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [msb-alumni] Re: Demolition Underway at Former Michigan School for the Blind Now I know I don't want to even go by the campus. This is so sad for all of us who have many many memories of our time at M S B. I have an old yearbook that has many pictures be they black and white of the campus around 1969 or 70. Thanks for sharing this Steve. Chris Rasmussen From: Steve <mailto:pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2014 10:02 PM To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [msb-alumni] Demolition Underway at Former Michigan School for the Blind Well, if there isn't enough downer news on this list lately. Here's more... Demolition underway on campus of Lansing's former Michigan School for the Blind . LANSING - Demolition has begun on what was once a dining hall at the Michigan School for the Blind. A maintenance building will come next and then the "cottages," squat brick buildings that once served as dormitories. The 27,000-square-foot auditorium built in the 1950s is also on the list, though its destruction might still be averted. Tom Edmiston, senior vice president for Great Lakes Capital Fund, a nonprofit that owns the more elegant structures on the site, described the work as "demolition and clearance, kind of making the campus available for redevelopment. Redevelopment has been slow in coming. The Lansing campus of the School for the Blind closed in the fall of 1995 and the few remaining students were moved to Flint. Much of the campus has been idle since. The Ingham County Land Bank, which owns much of the campus, renovated the historic 6,000-square-foot superintendent's house in 2009. It's now oc'cup'ied by Rizzi Designs. The former library became the Greater Lansing Housing Coalition's Neighborhood Empowerment Center in 2010. But the century-old administration building and former high school building have lain fallow. Edmiston said Great Lakes Capital does have a purchase agreement on the administration building, rechristened The Abigail, from a developer who wants to use it for affordable housing. The project is contingent on assistance from the state. The state is funding the demolition work though a $1.8 million blight removal grant. The grant was approved last year, but "it's taken this long to get all the necessary pieces of paper together that the state needed before they would release funds," Edmiston said. There is still time, not much though, to save the auditorium. "If we got any serious offers for the auditorium as is, then we wouldn't proceed with the demolition," Edmiston said. But the window is probably no longer than six weeks. "Given fact that we haven't heard anything for several years now about interest in the auditorium, it's hard to imagine that someone would step forward at this point," Edmiston said. Tum podem extulit horridulum Steve Lansing, Pure MI P.S. Look up the Latin translation of that signature on Google, it really sums up things right now, lol. Jim in Detroit James A. Prather Central Michigan University: 1980 Michigan School for the Blind: 1974 "Fire Up Chips" "Ungh, ungowa, Raiders still Got the Power!"