Tyrell Anderson, president of Decay Devils, believes there’s a lot of community excitement for a project to clean up Theodore Roosevelt High School.
“It’s not necessarily excitement for, ‘Hey I used to go to school here’,” Anderson said, “but more so, ‘I wonder what this space could be.’”
Decay Devils, a Gary-based nonprofit, has partnered with Indiana Landmarks to help clean inside the former high school. The two organizations are also seeking volunteers to help with the cleanup, from June 2-6.
Those interested in helping cleanup can register at decaydevils.org/velt.
In May 2024, Roosevelt was named one of the most endangered historic places in the U.S. by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Repair costs are estimated to be about $20 million. The school had a failing heat system in February 2019, which when combined with low temperatures, caused pipes to burst and water sent through the school. Students had to be moved off-site, according to Indiana Landmarks.
When the school was built in 1930, Roosevelt was one of three Indiana high schools built exclusively for Black students. In the 1920s, the school district sent 18 Black students to all-white Emerson High School and white students staged a series of protests and walk-outs. City, school and NAACP leaders decided to build a school for Blacks.
Roosevelt at one point housed more than 3,000 students.
“It’s a big site,” said Blake Swihart, director of Indiana Landmarks’ northwest field office. “It’s a very historic site with a lot of emotion, and a lot of meaningful residents and alumni in the city.”
It’s important for Indiana Landmarks to support communities throughout the state, Swihart said, adding that they want to make sure historic sites are valued and recognized.
On April 17, Indiana Landmarks hosted a community meeting where they learned what residents wanted to see from the site. People mentioned a museum and a boutique hotel, among other uses, Swihart said.
Swihart believes that it’s very important to find a use for the site, especially because of the history it holds.
Even before Indiana Landmarks became involved, Swihart said the community has been vocal for years about reusing the Roosevelt site.
“There’s been a lot of good collaboration, a lot of good ideas and a lot of interest that we hope will continue as we move along this process,” Swihart said.
Anderson sits on the board for Indiana Landmarks, which has helped build a relationship between the two organizations. He also works with Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Program about historic structures in Gary.
Decay Devils has gone to Roosevelt to archive the site, Anderson said, including identifying books, furniture and memorabilia that needs to be moved.
It’s important to move everything out so Indiana Landmarks has a blank slate to show interested investors, Anderson said.
“Let’s get this building empty, and let’s bring in those people who have the funds to push this project forward,” he added. “So that’s pretty much what we’ll be asking of the volunteers.”
Because Roosevelt was the first high school in Gary for Black students, Anderson believes it’s important for the community to protect, especially because Gary has a majority of Black residents.
“Even though I didn’t go to Roosevelt personally, and I never set foot in the school until I went with Indiana Landmarks, it’s just beautiful to see,” Anderson said.
Other developments in the city, including the newly awarded Lake County Convention Center, will help improvements to abandoned structures, Anderson said.
“A lot of investors don’t want to feel as though they’re investing on their own,” he added. “They would love to see a collective push moving forward, so we definitely see this as a positive.”
