John S. Newberry School

Newberry School was named for John S. Newberry, a civil engineer, lawyer, and member of congress. The land for the school was purchased in 1886, and a six-room schoolhouse was built in 1887. The school was used until December of 1927, after a safety engineer warned that “the structure was on the verge of collapse.” According to the Histories of the Detroit Public Schools, “The morning the inspection took place the children were dressed in their costumes ready to give the dress rehearsal for the first performance of their Christmas entertainment. When Superintendent Cody saw the condition the building was in, the children were sent home. No entertainment was given that evening.”

The new building opened in September of 1928. Due to overcrowding an addition was built onto the school in 1962, bringing the capacity of the building up to 1,000 students. From 2000 to 2004, however, enrollment dropped from 613 to just 252. The school closed at the end of the 2004 school year and was demolished in 2010.