Transitions: Lost—Fairmount High School
In each Transitions section of Preservation magazine, we highlight places of local and national importance that have recently been restored, are currently threatened, have been saved from demolition or neglect, or have been lost. Here's an updated one from Spring 2015.
Before he made his silver-screen debut, James Dean got an early taste of acting at Fairmount High School in Fairmount, Indiana. As a member of the class of 1949, he performed in plays such as Mooncalf Mugford and Gone with the Wind. The three-story brick-and-limestone school, opened in 1902, deteriorated over the years, and finally closed in 1986. Various fundraising efforts to restore the building were unsuccessful, and safety concerns were heightened after a corner of the school and a section of its roof collapsed in the summer of 2013. Demolition began in November 2014. Some of the high school's contents, including its stage and bricks, were salvaged.
photo by: Ross Griff/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Demolition of Fairmount High School began in November 2014.
