By james art GLENDALE, Ohio — More than a month after owner Bill Parrish took us through the graffiti-strewn halls of the historic Eckstein School in Glendale, community members have come together to begin cleaning and preparing the building for construction and renovations.
The large group mowed weeds, cleared greenery and removed debris, the first step in rebuilding the once-segregated school.
Bengals center Ted Karras helped lead the effort Tuesday, inspired after watching Parrish on WCPO 9 News in September.
WCPO
“I saw Bill talk on the news about Week 2, after Monday Night Football, and what an important mission this is, and a great story right here in Glendale,” Karas said. “(I) really just wanted to throw my hat in and help in any way I could.”
And that’s exactly what he did, bringing together his Paradigm construction company and Bengals teammates like Orlando Brown Jr., Alex Capa and Kordell Volson. Several local organizations and community members were also there to help.
“The main goal was to get people to understand what the mission of the Eckstein School is and what the project will be. I want to get as many eyes on it as possible,” Karas said.
Marlena Lang | WCPO
This project is to use the Eckstein School building to create a cultural arts center for the community. Parrish founded the nonprofit Eckstein Cultural Arts Center with just that goal.
“All kinds of kids from everywhere, you know, we’re creating a safe place for them to come,” Parrish said.
Dr. Raymond Terrell, Eckstein School alumnus and Eckstein Cultural Arts Center board member, attended the cleanup.
“I’m really, really happy, I’m just really excited to see how things go,” Terrell said. “It took a long time to get to this stage.”
Marlena Lang | WCPO
He said the creation of a community center is a perfect fit for the school, showing exactly what this building once represented to its students.
“The facility was more than a school,” Terrell said. “It was really a center of culture and life for the African-American community.”
Everyone close to the school said they are looking forward to what’s to come and that it will be something that will be of great benefit to the Glendale community.
Karas said that he and Paradigm will be involved in the project until the very end. The current plan is for construction and renovations to begin in December.