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Plenty Share Blame For Gary's Demise

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2008

It's a sad day when a community that has so few historical buildings can't save one of its rare gems. But that was the case with Gary Adult High School, now a pile of rubble.

The Hillsborough School District, building owner John Simon and the city of Tampa share responsibility. The school, built in 1913, was razed Monday because it had become a safety hazard.

The building never should have been allowed to deteriorate to that condition. The losers are the people of east Tampa who valued the building as a symbol of the old town of Gary.

Not every historical building is built to withstand the ravages of time, but the city should do its utmost to protect historic landmarks such as Gary High.

The school district, which owned the building up until 2007, had the primary responsibility. Once valued at nearly $800,000, the building was so abused by vandals and the elements, the district had a hard time finding a buyer. When Simon stepped forward, the building sold for less than half its original listing price.

Simon had an attractive plan to turn the facility into a community sports complex. But there were enough reports of code violations to raise questions about whether the owner did all that was needed to save the structure.

Gary Adult High School is gone, but across Tampa, there are other buildings - cigar factories, the Kress and Newberry stores, the old federal courthouse downtown - that face a similar fate.

Let the last lesson taught in Gary be that unless owners and government work together with a sincere interest in preserving these aging structures, our history will crumble before our eyes.

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