The old Lake Highlands Junior High building is set to be demolished this summer in favor of a brand new building for the 2024-25 school year. Last night, the neighborhood got a chance to bid it farewell. A final open house was held in the old building from 6-8 p.m. complete with activities, photo booths and many trips down memory lane. I attended LHJH for eighth grade, being in the building again felt weirder than ever.
Ah, the gum wall. For as sentimental as people might be, this is something that deserves to be demolished. The true villain in this monstrosity isn’t who started it, it’s who went second. What kind of person would follow suit in decorating their school with their own germs? I don’t know. Something to chew on.
Inside, a guest book was opened for everyone in attendance to sign. The table was set up just outside of the auditorium and had a line snaked around it for most of the night.
The LHJH band performed a few songs, including an orchestral version of “Sweet Child O’ Mine”.
I told coaches to leave my name off the leaderboard to give shine to guys like Jonathan Garza and Kent Perkins.
Still smells the same.
Inside L103, the computer lab that was home to dozens of Halo matches where you could only play in 3 second increments when the teacher had their back turned.
L102, right next door.
They call this ‘dead hall’ because there’s no classrooms, bathrooms, stairwells or reasons to exist. I call it “ahead of its time hall” because it was dead decades before the building itself dies in a few months.
The cafeteria was decked out, featuring a slideshow of old photos, plans for the new building and coffee from East Dallas Middle Ground.
St. Vincent might’ve worn these.
A102, a Spanish classroom.
The front office, where a few administrators were still working throughout the open house and where “Simon Pruitt” was written on countless tardy sheets.
The library has been in the same location at LHJH since the school was built. Every yearbook in the school’s existence was laid out for attendees to flip through.
