Thursday 28th March 2024

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The Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation (Missouri Preservation) announced its 2020 Places in Peril list via a virtual-announcement event on Thursday, October 29, including one in an area county.

A news release says Places in Peril is an annual list of endangered historic places in the state. These places are nominated by concerned individuals and decided upon by a committee of preservation advocates.

In Randolph County, Moberly Junior High School consists of a 1917 rear auditorium wing and main school wing constructed in 1930 to replace the city’s first high school constructed on the same parcel in 1895. The building is one of Moberly’s oldest schools and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 for its educational and historical significance.

The building was designed by local architect Ludwig Abt, whose work is associated with a number of significant properties in Moberly. Very few changes were made to the school during the 75-plus years it was used as the city’s junior high school. In 1997, the building was closed by the Moberly School District and has since remained vacant.

Like many vacant structures, Moberly Junior High School is in peril due to lack of maintenance and neglect. In 2012, plans to rehabilitate the building as senior housing fell through due to lack of sufficient funding. The Moberly community strongly supports preservation and believes this property has great potential for rehabilitation – whether for housing (as previously planned) or another use. The City of Moberly, which currently owns the property, is discussing ways to market the building. But if no plans arise soon, demolition is an option that the City will be forced to consider.

The community hopes that listing Moberly Junior High School as a Place in Peril will garner support for the building’s rehabilitation and capture the attention of potential developers who have the vision and means to undertake such a project.

The announcement video is available for viewing on Missouri Preservation’s website www.preservemo.org and on social media.