‘It’s not over until it’s over’: Picketers protest demolition of old Eastern

THURSDAY, March 6 — A small but dedicated group protested today as the demolition of old Eastern High School continued into a third day..

“If you tell me I can’t do something, that’s only going to give me more power,” said Rebecca Stimson, a leader of the Coalition to Preserve Eastern High School and Promote Mental Health.

Stimson was one of about a dozen picketing on the sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the historic school’s west wing, which the coalition has targeted for preservation with the auditorium. University of Michigan Health-Sparrow wants to build a psychiatric facility on old Eastern's property, though the plan still requires approval from the University of Michigan Board of Regents. 

“It’s not over ‘til it’s over,” Stimson said. “You have to believe strongly in what you do, and anybody who throws their hands up in the air when the going gets tough is going to lose.”

Protesters were galvanized by what they consider a lack of transparency by UM-Sparrow, which has made claims about the building’s condition that preservation advocates call unsubstantiated.

The claim protesters mentioned most often was one made by U-M Health Regional Network president Margaret Dimond that the auditorium and west wing were “not salvageable” because of water damage. Diamond said the network had spoken with preservationists and that it would cost "hundreds of millions of dollars to bring it back to where it was even in the nineties.”

Linda Peckham, a preservationist and the protest’s organizer, said she does not believe her.

“I know a lot of people in the preservation community,” Peckham said. “I know a lot of architects of historical structures. I know builders. As far as we know, they didn’t talk to anybody.”

Peckham said the “hundreds of millions” estimate was “astronomical.”

“The Walter French school was restored and turned into apartments,” Peckham said. “It cost $39 million, and that was to replicate the original windows, to make new plumbing and electrical work, everything. The idea that it would take the kind of money they’re flinging out there is just laughable.”

A spokesperson from UM-Sparrow did not respond to a request for comment. A statement from two weeks said the health system had been “working with alumni” to  preserve artifacts from the high school.

But alumni say they have heard nothing.

“We’ve got a Facebook group with 1,500 members,” said Stimson. “We’ve got multiple pages for specific classes. No one has come forward to say they’ve talked with Sparrow.”

Coalition members said the alumni association had not been contacted recently either. Jim Lynch, president of the Eastern High School Alumni Association, corroborated the claim, saying it's been months since UM-Sparrow has even contacted him, let alone talked to him.

“I’ve had the same as the coalition people,” he said. “Total silence.”

Stimson said UM-Sparrow officials claimed to have surveyed community members, but that the claim is misleading.

“No one has mentioned a survey to any of us,” said Stimson.

A two-question survey on UM-Sparrow’s website asks for ideas to “meaningfully honor the legacy” of the high school, suggesting a memorial garden or remembrance wall.

Videos from Sparrow have also misrepresented the building’s condition, according to Peckham.

“They’re showing parts of the building that are old, that were added and would of course be torn down,” Peckham said. “They talk about the old boiler. There’s a new boiler, but they never mentioned that. They talk about water damage in the west wing. We don’t see that in any of the pictures.”

Stimson called on UM-Sparrow officials to prove their claims.

“They claim to be talking to preservationists, but they won’t tell us who,” Stimson said. “They claim to be talking to alumni, but they won’t tell us who. They have made claims about showing neighbors and alumni plans, but we know no one who has seen those plans.”

“If that’s the case, show us,” Stimson said.