Class Dismissed! Old Cass Tech High School meets the wrecking ball

Following in the footsteps of so many iconic Detroit buildings, demolition of the Old Cass Tech High School is in full swing. Walls of the graffiti-covered, broken-windowed hulk of a building on the north side of I-75 at Cass Avenue remain, but if you want to get one last look, you best get downtown by mid-summer.

No one's ever accused us at The Times of snubbing Detroit's great, historic buildings. We took no joy in watching Tiger Stadium nor the Lafayette Building tumble to the ground.

But the most unfortunate truth regarding Old Cass Tech is that its greatest feat in recent years has been to stand there and block the view of the beautiful building that is the New Cass Tech from drivers on I-75. That ain't real productive.

It's a shame that the building's condition was allowed to deteriorate as it did, and even more a shame that people didn't clamor to find a viable use for it until it was too late. But if removing the building opens up new possibilities to make the New Cass Tech an even better campus, maybe it can still be a change for the better.