Pierson High School Renovation

Man, I was driving past Pierson High School and I got to thinking about the renovation they did back in 1981. What happened was the school was built about 1907 and up to 1980 really not much was done on the building. In 1964, a new gym and a elementary wing were built along with metal fire escapes on both sides of the building. Other than that, the building started to fall into disrepair. They did not bother to even paint it. Basically, it looked liked shit. In 81 they finally renovated the inside and outside of the building with a 3 million dollar bond. They did not add any additions other that making the old gym into a theatre. The hill was cut down 3 feet in front so a new front entrance could be installed, much to the dismay of sleigh riders. The school was designed in 1907 to handle 800 students and when I got out of the joint there were 750. This was before the Sacred Heart of Mary school was bought in 1971 and made into the Sag Harbor Elementary School. For some reason after the 81 renovation, the Pierson bell sat in the front of the Whaling Museum for over 2 decades until it was returned to lobby of Pierson where it belongs, and should never have left there. The custodian, Vinny Onisko use to ring the bell, which was located in the clock tower on top of the school, every day at 8 am and 1 pm to signal the start of school. The bell could be heard all over the village. I will post more about Pierson in later posts.

Talk about the building falling into disrepair!