Future of former Allegany High facade still uncertain
Sep. 22—CUMBERLAND, Md. — The former Allegany High School facade remains in storage with no viable ideas gaining traction for its future.
The 20-foot-tall concrete facade was removed in pieces by workers in April and placed on 18 pallets before demolition of the school began. The pieces were numbered and instructions for reassembly were included.
"As of now we've had no offers for the facade," said Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss.
The school, including the auditorium and the gymnasium, were razed by early June and the land cleared.
"If something would be done (to make use of the facade), it's likely to happen at a time when there was high interest," said Morriss.
Eighty pieces make up the facade. Discussions have ranged from using the pieces for sculpture art downtown or using portions for an ornate welcome monument for the proposed new housing subdivision planned at the former school site.
Although the old school was owned by Allegany County, Cumberland Councilman Rock Cioni led a campaign to have the facade placed under city ownership. The county granted the request and the facade pieces were stored near the municipal wastewater treatment plant in South Cumberland.
"It wouldn't take that much space to store it," Cioni said. "My thought from the beginning was we get it, and if someone is able to do something with it it's all the better."
Morriss said he received an email suggesting the facade be erected at Greenway Avenue Stadium, however support and funding for that idea have yet to materialize. "The school board had passed on (the facade) previously," he said.
Allegany High School representatives acquired what they wanted from the school, which included the copper lettering on the lintel above the facade and 500 bricks to construct a flower garden at the new school on Haystack Mountain.
Michael Thompson, the photographer who coordinated the Fade to Blue project, was not involved in plans for the facade but he has made efforts to help find a home for it. Thompson said he believes the facade pieces removed did not include the lintel.
"There are parts that are missing like the lintel I believe," said Thompson. "But it could be reimagined. There are creative people out there who could come up with ideas for it. If you didn't erect it exactly like it was before it still could be transformed into something pretty cool. It could be some kind of symbolic sculpture ... but it's who has the time and money to do it is the question."
In previous work sessions, City Administrator Jeff Silka and Councilman Eugene Frazier said the facade pieces could be offered to the public. Allegany graduates could seek pieces to put on display at their home or place of work. A mason may be needed to reduce the current pieces into smaller manageable sizes to accommodate the process.
Morriss said he hopes that something can be done within a year or the council may have to discuss the fate of the facade, which could include the landfill.
Al Feldstein, retired from the Maryland Department of Planning, has been supportive of trying to save the facade from early on.
"It was a good idea because of the architectural style used in those old schools," said Feldstein. "If there was a chance to use the facade in some way, let's do it. The county, the city and the contractor did everything they could to provide the community an opportunity to preserve and in perhaps some way use the facade. And maybe, that opportunity may still exist, if not for the entire thing, then perhaps a portion of it, such as the scroll work. From an historical and architectural perspective, it would be nice to save and use that in some way."
Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter.
