FOSTORIA, Ohio — A piece of Northwest Ohio history is going away.
The Fostoria community is getting one last look at the St. Wendelin High School building.
"A lot of memories. My mom went to school there, my kids went to school there. All in the family," said Sue Filliater, St. Wendelin Class of 1979.
This week, work began on the demolition of the historic St. Wendelin High School building.
The high school shut down in 2017, followed by the elementary school in 2019.
Since then, this more-than-a-century-old building has sat vacant.
But Fostoria residents are still sad to see demolition begin.
"It's kind of a loss to the community, and it's kind of sad to see things torn down because they never get rebuilt again. That's the end of an era right there," said Joel Dennis, a lifelong Fostorian.
"The city used to use it. It's an awesome-looking building, there's no sense in tearing it down. They can use it for something," said Garry Whitmer.
After a few years of trying to find a developer to repurposes the large facility, the decision was made that it made better sense to tear it down and have a blank canvas property.
And though these brick walls hold generations of memories, some of the people getting one last look at the structure agree it's probably the better decision for the community.
"Sure, but knowing the age of it and what needs to be done to it now or whatever for it to be used again, it's not cost-effective," said Filliater.
"Everything is outdated, I'm sure, and we just don't have the use to keep it up. I'm sure it's best to take down," said Joe Bouillon.
"It costs a lot of money to maintain a building that big, so I guess the only other option is just to demolish it," said Dennis.
But others who attended the school when a large addition was constructed in 1960 feel the newer portion of the school could have been saved.
"60 years doesn't seem like very long for a building," said Sue Eckenrod, Class of 1960. "And I'm just amazed at all of the stuff that they've left in the building that could have been utilized."
Currently, there is no set plan for what could be developed at this soon-to-be empty St. Wendelin property.
With the size of the building, it's estimated that the entire demolition could take the better part of 3 full weeks.