DEMOLITION: Historic Ogden School District Building Razed

I was cruising down 20th Street the other day in Ogden and notice a dramatic change in the landscape.  Here is a photo of a cool old building found on the Ogden School District administrative campus from several years ago:

The structure was quite large, extending almost a quarter length of the city block.  I thought it was also architecturally significant with great lines and ornamental brick work.

 Here is the scene I fell upon recently:

The whole edifice is gone.  When I inquired with the guy holding the hose what happened, he indicated that the roof was bad on the building and the bid to replace it came in at $1,000,000.  Wow!  It was much less expensive for the school district to knock the building down and turn it into landscaping. 

It is sad to see this building go but the resources of the school district are lean.  As stewards of public funds, I suspect the School District couldn't justify the repair expense to the public that it serves.

This building was quite different than Ogden High School which recently was the focus of a restoration and preservation effort.  Not only did taxpayer funds support the preservation effort, but private funds paid for the most elaborate and expensive part of restoring the amphitheater.