Topeka — A piece of history inched closer to demolition, as the Topeka City Council gave the city staff permission to begin destruction of the former all-white school that was at the center of the Brown v. Board of Education case.
Although the council on Tuesday authorized the demolition, it's possible the old Sumner School building will be saved.
Two groups seeking to use the building have five months to prove their financial capabilities to acquire and renovate the structure, officials said. And a formal council vote would be needed for the school to be torn down, Deputy Mayor Brett Blackburn said.
Council and city staff members said they would like to save the building, but the cost forced them to consider other options.
"We do not take this lightly," City Manager Norton Bonaparte said. "It is a historic structure. However, it continues to cost the city to maintain."
Previous proposals from the two applicants, Pioneer Group Inc. and Community First Inc., fell "very short" of showing financial capability for the project, Deputy City Manager Randy Speaker said.
The building became a symbol of civil rights history when Oliver Brown, a black minister, tried to enroll his daughter in Sumner School in 1950.
The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 and remained open until 1996, when the school district closed it. In 2002, the city bought the school for $45,000 from the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, which had used it for storage.
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Made_in_China (Paul R. Getto) says…
How sad; wish someone could save this beautifel building.