The back portion of Eastwood’s Stephen F. Austin Senior High School off Telephone Rd. is in the process of being pulverized to make room for a new western section of the campus that’ll go in its place. Like the demolished section, the soon-to-be built 184,000-sq.-ft. portion will back up to S. Lockwood Dr. along Jefferson St. Asbestos cleanup preceded the current demo.
Workers’ next job will be to gut the interior of the school’s original 1936 front section along Dumble St. — but not until it achieves an all-clear from asbestos as well:
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This 2016 site plan from ERO Architects shows the outline of the new construction attached to the existing facade that’s slated to be preserved on the eastern side of the block. Parking lots cut in close to the school at its north and south edges, while drop-off lanes take over its west side and front lawn on Dumble:
The Jefferson St.–side of the school will become its new main entrance. A portion of its facade is shown below fronted by a colonnade of 5 arch faces held out from the building:
A circular plaza appears at the school’s northwest corner, adjacent to the new bay of parking:
These more general images from 2016 show the new driveway that’s planned to front the building on S. Lockwood:
A closer-up look at the entrance planned along that face . . .
which you can glide right through in this video rendering of the building:
- Austin HS undergoes demolition to make room for new facility [HISD]
- Austin HS readying for construction of new school [HISD]
- Austin High School bond project update draws big crowd [HISD]
- Austin High School [HISD]
Photos: HISD. Renderings, site plan, and video: ERO Architects
All that money for such horrible schools. I don’t blame the teachers in the least, I salute them for getting in the trenches with these horrible, undisciplined: “kidsâ€. I see my RIDICULOUS property taxes and watch them spending nearly a billion on “updating†these lousy schools and it makes me furious. I have no children, I don’t plan to ever have children and yet I pay a fortune to make these schools the Taj Mahal for children who drop out and don’t take school serious in the least. I have a good friend who an administrator at a “top†(AS IF) school in HISD and you cannot believe what he has to put up with from the “studentsâ€. He says he feels like a warden at a Prison and this is the best school in the district. I can only imagine the stories from this school. All this money poured into this school, that I get the privilege of contributing to, that will make zero difference in the kind of person this school turns out. Austin is a gorgeous John Staub design, far superior to his design for Lamar. I wish the student were up to the level of the this great building. I think it gets a 1 or 2 out of 10 on Zillow, drop out rate off the charts, nothing done here will change that fact. Keep on “winning†with my money HISD
when these high school students read how furious they are making shannon, i bet they’re really gonna get their act together.
Yep, we taxpayers have to build all new facilities so we can turn them over to private “charter schools” to make money on our dime. Typical.
@Thayer Wah, wah wah,
Want some cheese to go with your whine?
So your solution to your complaint is????
@thayon (nice). These kids can’t read, thus I’m not worried. And really do we really need to stoop to the level of Glen W, in terms of dialogue. I mean talk about immature. #sad
My opinion: it is no accident that Thayer’s tirade is thrown, again, in the direction of residents on the east side of town, or that it is free of any data or links to any data that might support his argument, or that, when challenged, he just comes out with more extreme and totally unsupported claims. #bigotry
@Glen W.
1. Exempt people who have never had children from school tax, period. I shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s child.
2. You pay 100 percent if you have a child and you pay based on how many children you have in the public schools and at 65 its lowered to half, unless you still have children in the district.
3. If you choose to send your children to a private school, you pay half school taxes
4. Churches are taxed property taxes based on the market rate for their property.
@Thayer
But you HAVE had a child in school. That child was you. An entire system was built with the expectation that you would take advantage of it, and it’s your turn to repay your debt. (Oh, and if Mumsy and Poppy sent you to a private school, that was their choice. It doesn’t let you off the hook.)
Further, you’re either too young or too oblivious to realize that those snot-nosed kids one day will take over this world. All your smug proclamations about what others should and should not do with their kids doesn’t add up to a pinch of dog dirt. A person who truly was concerned about the well-being of the children would perhaps take some time to volunteer to tutor students who desperately need it, or help buy school supplies for students whose families cannot afford it.
For our society to function requires that the majority of people have had a good basic education. Your idea that everyone should be rich and to hell with everyone else is unrealistic, annoying and ultimately destructive.
The PC police are alive and well on this site, trying in vain to bully anyone who dares say schools are bad or that some areas experience more crime than others. Then they throw around pejorative’s like racism and bigotry to bully you into capitulation. They’re like Berkeley: free speech unless I disagree then you’re shouted down and called pejorative’s. The irony is that they trample free speech with relish then use it to push the country into Fascism all the while shouting down everyone who doesn’t agree with their fascism as Fascist’s. It’s an absurd argument, but its constant. I refuse to be bullied; this is America. Be civil and stop calling people pejorative’s, just because you disagree. We can agree to disagree in a civil manner.
@ Thayer: you make ranting attacks (“horrible schools”; “kids can’t read”) without a shred of evidence, and then you play victim when you’re called out for your incendiary remarks (“PC police”; “bully you into submission”). That much is irony enough, but then at no point do you actually engage opposing arguments.
.
I’ll make it clear for you: if you can substantiate your claims about the students at Austin HS, then pony up. If you can explain why our society should pay to educate you but you shouldn’t have to pay back that debt, then pony up. And if you can’t, at least please go quietly and spare us the victim act.
@Thayer
You seem a little confused about free speech and its consequences. You’re free to say whatever you like, but that comes with no guarantee that everyone is going to agree with you.
Further, when someone refutes the opinions you’ve expressed, suddenly all that bravado goes flying out the window, and you portray yourself as being a victim rather than addressing what was said.
There is no conspiracy against you. When several people independently state that they find your statements racist and bigoted, it may be time to ask yourself if perhaps there’s a kernel of truth in what they say.
Nobody is bullying you. This is a moderated site, and if you feel you’re being treated unfairly, complain to the moderators. You also have the option of taking your opinions elsewhere; the internet is a big place.