
Bunche Elementary School
2601 Ellery St, Detroit, MI 48207
-Abandoned 2010
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History of Bunche Elementary School
Bunche Elementary School was built in 1953 likely from a 1949 Millage, this millage saw the funding for additions to almost every Detroit Public School up to that point, along with many new schools built along with Bunche some other schools built from this millage would be Weatherby, Healy, and Kosciusko Elementary Schools among others. In 1956 the school would open, in its years of operation it never received any additions. It is named after Ralph Bunche which was the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Originally Bunche acted as a addition to the Bradford Smith School on the same plot of land, however later it was demolished leaving Bunche as the only school on the land. It is unknown when Bradford Smith was built or demolished, however the 50s and 60s saw many schools built to replace the late 1800s era schools, so it is very possible this was the case. Into the early 2000s Bunche saw enrollment decline and it was closed in 2010. However it was later repurposed and leased by a church, until about 2018.

Recollection from the author
Bunche was a very unique twist of CMU, while many Detroit schools built in the 1950s or with additions in the 50s have boring painted concrete brick designs. Bunche somehow puts a interesting twist into its architectural style. From the curves to the layout of the school it is very unique, also of note is the inclusion of two separate kindergarten rooms both completed with bay windows. Bunche will also be remembered by me for its abundance of papers and textbooks just laid all over the floor everywhere. Along with this the one school in Detroit I have seen with a library still having books or other media inside, the other thing of note would be the desks still semi lined up in many classrooms.