A sign reminds spectators of COVID-19 prevention measures, as sidewalk superintendents gather to watch the demolition of the old Leslie Junior High School Wednesday, April 15 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Demolition began this week on the old Leslie Junior High School building, a brick building that opened in 1927 and has served thousands of Salem students.
The structure is connected to South Salem High School and is being demolished to make room for the expansion of the high school campus.
Leslie Middle School moved to its current home on Pringle Road in 1997. The historic brick building housed Howard Street Charter School until late 2019, when the school moved to a new downtown Salem location in preparation for the demolition.
–Rachel Alexander
A sign reminds spectators of COVID-19 prevention measures as the demolition of old Leslie Middle School gets underway Wednesday, April 15 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter).
Basketball backboards dangle from the wall of the old Leslie Middle School Gymnasium Wednesday as the building is torn down make way for a South Salem High School expansion (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Demolition of the old Leslie Middle School begins on April 15, 2020 to make room for a South Salem High School expansion (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Basketball backboards dangle from the wall of the old Leslie Middle School Gymnasium Wednesday as the building is torn down make way for a South Salem High School expansion (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Blossoms from an ornamental Cherry tree framed the main entrance to the Leslie Middle School building as the building was being torn down on April 15, 2020 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
A sign reminds spectators of COVID-19 prevention measures as the demolition of old Leslie Middle School gets underway Wednesday, April 15 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter).
Demolition of the old Leslie Middle School begins on April 15, 2020 to make room for a South Salem High School expansion (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Photographer Ron Cooper and his wife Penny moved to Salem in 1969 to take a job as photographer at the Oregon Statesman (later the Statesman Journal). Their three children, Monica, Kimberly, and Christopher, attended and graduated from Salem public schools. Cooper retired from the Statesman Journal in 2001 but, has continued his passion for photography in many ways, including as a photographer for the Salem Reporter.
