Let’s work together to save historic Eastern High School

When the University of Michigan was faced with a deteriorating Michigan Union building, tearing it down wasn’t considered. The1919  iconic structure designed by noted Chicago Architects Pond and Pond was restored in 2020 for $86.2 million.

However, in Lansing, UM Health-Sparrow has said it wants to tear down old Eastern High School, another important Pond and Pond-designed structure, replacing it with a psychiatric hospital.

The brothers Irving and Allen Pond were University of Michigan graduates and leaders in the scholastic gothic style of public architecture popular in the late 19th and early 20th century. They also designed the MSU Union, the Michigan Mutual Building in downtown Lansing and, ironically, an early version of Sparrow Hospital.

When UM Health-Sparrow System announced plans for the badly needed mental health adjacent to its Michigan Avenue campus, the community was blindsided. Citizens formed the Committee to Save Historic Eastern and Promote Mental Health to work collaboratively with UM Health-Sparrow to save a portion of the iconic old school.

The committee was met with resistance after an initial in-person meeting with health system officials.  When committee members asked to tour the building along with a preservation architect and a photographer, its request was rejected.

Despite several attempts to meet again in person, the committee was only able to get video teleconference meeting with a few representatives of the hospital, who firmly rejected any attempt to save a portion of the school and repurpose it.

Committee members have sent letters to community officials and U of M’s regents ahead of their monthly meeting Thursday (Oct. 17) to ask that a small portion of old Eastern High called the west wing and the auditorium be saved and integrated into the new mental health facility.

We had hoped to speak to the regents in person on Thursday, but our request was declined, and in a euphemistic fashion: “We are unable to confirm your request to speak at the Board of Regents meeting.”  The issue does not appear to be on the agenda Thursday. Before it is scheduled for a vote, however, we hope our elected officials will show us the respect we deserve and hear us out.

By threatening to move the facility elsewhere if objections were made, UM Health-Sparrow has garnered community support for razing Eastern High School from organized labor, mental health proponents and Lansing City Council, shutting down a robust discussion about the importance of saving our historic structures. 

The Lansing area has been a leader over the last decade in promoting “placemaking,” which calls for connecting the community through arts, culture and identity to understand its past and examine its history.

To the tens of thousands of alumni, Eastern is more than brick and mortar. It is a hallowed hall where hope of a better life through education mingled with sports, arts, music and personal relationships. It is an important part of the soul of the community.

From the onset, Eastern High School was a lifeline to generations of immigrants. Alumni went off to WW II, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm to preserve democracy, some not returning.

Throughout this ordeal, committee members continued their commitment to work in a collaborative way with hospital system officials. Its efforts speak to the culture of Lansing.  For example: When faced with losing a General Motors presence entirely in 1996, Lansing officials and the public stood up, and the result was Lansing became the only U.S. to have two new auto plants. A former Eastern High School teacher,  David Hollister, led that effort as mayor.

In keeping with that spirit, the Committee to Save Historic Eastern and Promote Mental Health asks U of M’s regents to take a step back and consider a collaborative plan to preserve a great community legacy.

(Bill Castanier is president of the Historic Society of Greater Lansing and a member of the Committee to Save Historic Eastern and Promote Mental Health.)