History of Barbour Magnet Middle School

Barbor Magnet Middle School was a Middle School built in 1922, it is a identical twin school to Hutchins Intermediate School, loacted at 8820 Woodrow Wilson St. which opened in 1922 as well. The two schools shared an identical layout, merely reversed: Barbour faces east, while Hutchins faces west. Barbour was the third school built in the direct area of the Pingree Park neighborhood. The others are Joyce Elementary (1916) and Hillger Elementary (1914). The school was very grand for its time the core of the building was dedicated to community and academic support functions. It housed a two story auditorium with a balcony, a large central library, community rooms, and the school office. On top of this a wing contained individual gymnasiums and individual swimming pools for both boys and girls, complete with locker rooms. The school also included a comprehensive vocational wing with dedicated shops for woodworking, machinery, printing, electricity, and even gas engine repair. Two large classroom wings extended to the north and south, housing the standard academic functions. Its earlier years it operated as a Intermediate school serving grades 7-9, however later in its operation Barbour operated as a magnet middle school program. The original program hosted grades 7-9. Similar to Ludington Magnet Middle School on the west side, Barbour received its Magnet status around the 1970s. The first school that would be closed of the bunch built in Pingree Park would be Hillger closed in 1976, and would be later sold to a church. According to the school's administration, every student who participated in Barbour’s program improved by at least one grade level. As late as September 2008, the school was demonstrating success at the state level, winning a $281,605 "Safe Routes to School" grant. The funds were designated to increase law enforcement presence, introduce pedestrian and bicycle safety training, and launch monthly "Walk to School" days. However just a year later in 2009 both Joyce and Barbour were selected for closure inside DPS. Shortly after closing Detroit Landlord and speculator Dennis Kefallinos bought both the schools, later he sold Joyce in 2014 which became the Detroit Prep Academy in 2016. However Barbour remains abandoned but in good to very good shape for being abandoned since 2009.