History of Thompson Elementary School

Thompson Elementary School was a school in the city of Highland Park that was built after 1950, likely in the 1960s. A Sanborn Map from the year 1950 shows Thompson School not yet built, instead being occupied by homes. In the late 50s into the early 60s, Highland Park Schools saw significant modernization efforts and new construction, many schools, like Ferris, were demolished and rebuilt from the ground up. It is unknown if the Thompson that stands today was a replacement school, however, designs in the school suggest an early 60s build due to the CMU designs found in the hallways and auditorium, along with the drop ceiling tiles. Furthermore, the window designs are characteristic of an early 1960s build. The construction of a school was likely possible due to the declining population seen in Highland Park. Between 1950 and 1960, the city saw a decline in population of 18%. Gaps in the housing market likely led to the city being able to redevelop the land from 180-214 Winona Ave and 180-213 Buena Vista into the single address of 180 Winona Ave, where Thompson School would be built. As trust in Detroit Public Schools continued to decline, many parents enrolled their students in Highland Park schools, the district gave Detroit residents an opportunity to enroll in a suburban like district without relocating elsewhere. However, by the 1990s, this plan had been surpassed by better options, as Highland Park Schools became more and more like the thing they ran away from in Detroit Public Schools. By the end of the 1990s, many schools in Highland Park could never recover from declining enrollment, while larger institutions, such as Highland Park Community College, were able to be repurposed for a time, many smaller ones like Ferris and Thompson never reopened. It is unknown when the two schools closed, however it is likely Thompson closed alongside 4 other schools in the district in 1997, however by 2001, both Thompson and Ferris had closed. Since then, Thompson has been scrapped and gutted by scrappers, leaving the building open to vandals. In 2015, a project began to develop a community farm on the land of Thompson . While the project was successful, the farm only used the land formerly occupied by Thompson's playground space, leaving the main structure abandoned. In 2022, after years of delays, Ferris was demolished, while Thompson still remains in 2025, it is likely Thompson will meet the same fate soon.