May 31, 2000

Field trip takes students inside Building 50

Central Grade School studies structure's past, ponders future

By Garret Leiva
Herald editor
Exploring Building 50 from the inside out, students from Traverse City Central Grade School spent last Wednesday studying the structure's past along with pondering its future.
A combined third- and fifth-grade project, the spring field trip brought 100 students to the administration building at the former Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital on the Grand Traverse Commons campus. While the day was a valuable history lesson, it also integrated art, writing and scientific studies.

Photo by Garret Leiva
Traverse City Central Grade School third-graders Devon Lane, Aaron Clark and Brian Mayo (left to right) use their creativity and #2 pencils as they write stories involving Building 50 during a field trip May 24 to the former state hospital located on the Grand Traverse Commons campus.

"The primary goal was to consider the building's historical relevance and what might occur if you tear it down or renovate it. We also talked about the process of making those types of community decisions," said Brian Klauer, a fifth-grade math and science teacher.
As part of an ongoing school project, last week's field trip was a follow up visit for many students who explored Building 50 and the surrounding grounds last fall. During the previous project, students penned poetry, created oil pastel paintings and studied the Commons' unique ecosystem through a scientific scavenger hunt. They also discovered some interesting mathematical tidbits such as it took more than seven million bricks to construct Building 50.
This trip proved just as enlightening, however, as the students saw Building 50 in a new light - that within its hallways and rooms. While walking through these corridors of the past, Klauer noted that students were amazed by the building's architecturally unique ventilation and lighting systems. Many students also mentioned that someone in their family had worked at the former state hospital.
After exploring the interior of the century-old building, students took their creative energy outdoors.

Photo by Garret Leiva
Central Grade School third-grader Jimmy Oleson draws a black-and-white sketch of Building 50.

Sitting in the shade of Victorian architecture and sugar maples, young artists used drawing pencils to create impressionistic views of the building. Each student also had a chance to lay back in the tall grass and dream up grandiose stories about Building 50. Using more scientific reasoning and a tree map, students also documented the wide range of species planted on the Commons' grounds.
Sitting in the shadow of Building 50, fifth-grader Jimmy Oleson was duly impressed with the sizable structure.
"I like it because it looks eerie because it is so old," said Oleson, as he sketched windows and walls jutting up into the sky.
"I think they should save it and keep it the way it is and not tear anything down. They should refurbish it inside, because it can't stay like this, but that would cost a lot of money. It would take a while, but you could do it."
As a member of the Committee to Preserve Building 50, Janese Horton noted that children, such as Oleson, might write the next significant chapter in the structure's history. Horton and local architect Ken Richmond were on hand to discuss the history and architecture behind Building 50.
"Kids have a lot of great ideas for uses of the building ... this provides a forum for these guys to have a voice," Horton said.
"Ken mentioned that maybe it's going to be these guys that actually save the building. Through a project like this, students realize the value and uniqueness that these buildings have that we can't recreate today."