HOUSTON - It served as a schoolhouse for young Catholic girls as far back as 1905 and a dormitory for Catholic nuns well into 2013.
But the leaders of Incarnate Word Academy believe Houston's oldest Catholic school, and its future, will be best served by tearing the building down.
Demolition has already begun inside the three-story building at 600 Crawford, ironically in a section of downtown Houston that is currently home to perhaps the heaviest frenzy of new construction in the city.
A new Marriott Hotel is under construction a block away, office buildings and condos are rising in two other directions from the Incarnate Word campus, along with an expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center two blocks to the east.
But the last downtown Houston building designed by 19th century Texas architect Nicholas Clayton is cracked, its front porch and cross leaning toward Minute Maid Park, and its repair and reclamation deemed by school leaders too expensive and impractical.
"I'm real sad about it," said 1977 graduate, JoAnn Labropulos, who stopped to take a picture of her old school. "And it would have been even more beautiful had it been restored I think and been among these new buildings."
"It's just a beautiful old building," said 1969 graduate Kate McDonald who led an unsuccessful petition campaign to get the sisters of Incarnate Word to change their minds.
"I've always been sort of a history buff. And I think when you disrespect your history, you're disrespecting yourself. And I think it really is going to be the death knell of the school," said McDonald.
But school leadership sees the situation exactly the opposite. The school, in place in downtown Houston since 1873, needs to insure its future for its next 142 years.
"It was a very difficult decision," said Sister Lauren Beck, the president of the school who says the demolition decision came after months of internal debate.
Beck says a 6-story building will take its place, creating more space for students and staff as the all-girls school grows from a current 306 students to an anticipated 350.
She says that even after expensive renovations, that is something the current building could never provide.
"It became very clear to me, as much as I love the building, there was nothing we could do from the roof to the floor to meet the needs we have," said Beck whose decision came down to "bricks" versus the long-term mission of educating young women.
"That's the only possible solution to meet our growing educational needs. Sometimes it just comes down to you got to do it. You've got to do what you've got to do."
Beck says it will take two months to tear down the building and that pieces of it, including the exterior crosses and the decorative medallions and carvings that were key to Nicholas Clayton's designs, will be incorporated into the new building.
But even a high-rise crane operator, working at a new hotel across the street, said he is sad to see it disappear.
"But it's so beautiful. I hate to see it go. It's really sad actually," said construction worker Henry Galipp.
Sad perhaps, but also a calculated leap of faith, to help Houston's oldest catholic school keep pace with the future.
The demolition and construction, estimated to cost $8.5 million dollars is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2016-2017 school year.
And in association with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, construction will begin on a parking garage just to the east of school that may also serve as a source of future income.
