
Harris Elementary School
3700 Pulford St, Detroit, MI 48207
-Abandoned 2005
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History of Harris Elementary School
Harris Elementary School was one of 29 schools built under a 1959 millage. Titled by Detroit Public Schools as the “1960s Building Program”. The first of these schools would be Jamieson built in 1960 (Demolished 2024), along some other notable schools including Kettering High School (Demolished 2024), Campbell Elementary, Berry Elementary, and Biddle Elementary among others. The 1960s saw the last strong push by the District to address enrollment numbers dropping due to white flight. The ultimate goal of these 29 schools was driven by civil rights efforts and the elections of the first Black school board members, leading to the construction of new schools in Black neighborhoods and the hiring of more Black teachers and administrators. This era also saw changes in school architecture, with a move towards modern designs, and efforts towards integration that faced significant resistance. The 1960s schools including Harris saw modern amenities such as a fully electrical heated and air conditioned buildings. Modern layouts and design with centrally located common areas, and modern glass window designs. Harris was one of the smaller schools built throughout the 60s, and would be built in 1963. Even early into it’s time as a school it struggled as enrollment continued to fall inside Detroit Public Schools. Talks of closing the school happened as early as 1982, however the school was repurposed into the New Work Alternative High School which reportedly closed in 2001, possibly a head start elementary school occupied the building until 2005 when it closed reportedly as well. The building was later turned into the Harris Adult Education Center and closed in 2013. In 2015 the Fountain Worship Center leased the building from Detroit Public Schools, and used the building until 2020, when it was likely hit by the pandemic and was closed due to financial reasons. Like many of the 1960s Building Program schools that have closed, Harris has became a prime target of scrapping due to newer equipment inside, this along with squatting due to the major homelessness problem in the surrounding area have caused Harris to not fair well and will likely be demolished if it can’t find a new owner that is willing to take on the project of restoration.

Recollection from the author
Harris was a example of the greed of scrappers, every section of this school was trashed to tag along with this the squatter belongings that littered Harris. Most parts of this school were on par with the nasty conditions of many of the apartments in Detroit, which are some of the most nasty when it comes to buildings in Detroit. Harris was also hard to see its history through walking in it, due to its long list of owners that changed parts of the building, however the feeling on the inside made the building feel bigger then it appears from the outside.
hallway in harris shot 1
hallway in harris shot 2
hallway in harris shot 3
hallway in harris shot 4
hallway in harris shot 5
hallway in harris shot 6
hallway in harris shot 7
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hallway in harris shot 8
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Auditorium shot 1
Auditorium shot 2 (Note the kitchen serving area window
Kitchen serving window in Auditorium
Entrance to Gymnasium
Gymnasium shot 1
Gymnasium shot 2
Gymnasium shot 3
Sign for the Adult Education era of Harris
Boiler room shot 1
Boiler room shot 2
Office area of Harris
inside the office
Display case outside the office
A classroom that has pews inside from its time as a church
Another classroom has became a squatter's room
Another room with a different set of pews
A classroom that has had a fire in it