School Number 4 + Nightmare Basement

Jacksonville, FL - Your Main Paradox - Thursday, September 24th, 2009 : goo

[previous] :: [next]

Riverside Park School was originally a boxy wooden-frame school house built in 1891 with multiple additions (due to population increase) until it was considered a fire hazard and unstable. Duval County voters passed a $1,000,000 bond issued in 1915 to build more than a dozen new brick school houses. This one was first known as Public School Number Four but later was renamed Annie Lytle Elementary School, after its former long-time teacher and principal. It was started in 1917, Designed by architect Rutledge Holmes, built by Florida Engineering and Construction Company, and Completed in 1918 . It cost over $250,000 and originally overlooked Riverside Park, before the construction of I-95 & I-10 isolated it in the 1950's.

In 1960 the last student passed through those front doors and the school was closed to the public. It was used for office space and storage after that before being condemned in 1971 and abandoned. It may have also been rented out to a catholic school for a year or two in the early 70s or late 60s but is not confirmed. The dominant architectural feature of the school is a Neo-Classic pedimented portico supported by colossal Doric columns at the entrance. Time also has taken its toll on the Annie Lytle School. There was a fire in 1995, the roof on the auditorium caved in and the building has been vandalized for years. It has served as a shelter for the homeless, countless thrill seeking youths, paranormal investigators, gang activity, druggies, and rummeredly even a group of hippies long ago.

On October 29, 1999 Foundation Holding Incorporated purchased the property in order to build "Lytle Place Condominiums" in its place. Due to public outcry and pressure from multiple historic societies Jacksonville approved historic landmark designation in 2000. It has sat in its current state of disrepair as I-95 & I-10 overpass/ exchange was built only a few hundred feet from the second story windows. The cost of rehabbing the structure was deemed too much as compared to demolition and new construction so it is currently back up for demolition with little fight left from the Historical Societies which originally opposed those actions after seeing the projected 3 million dollar price difference as well as only an 85% inhabitable space as opposed to new construction plans with 98%.

Many rumors surround the school that tell of murders, psychotic janitors, suicidal teachers, affairs, and explosions in the boiler room. Police reports only confirm that a rape did happen once the school was condemned and many different counts of trespassing, vandalism, and B&E have and continue to happen.

I went to this school multiple times but I had a camera mishap which left most of my photos unusable but I went back the next day. We made it in the same place I have used multiple other times and explored the schools multiple rooms and stories. As always my favorite places are the Auditorium with one sinking window and this one overgrown hallway on the second story with ferns in the window.

We spent some extra time looking around for a way into the basement which we found two holes. One had a 15-20 foot drop and the other with what looked like a 10 foot drop but actually turned out to be only 4-5. Somehow it created an optical allusion at the hole in the classroom floor. Kuri just went for it and jumped down then was standing there with his head sticking up through the hole in the floor. We laughed a bit then handed down the equipment and joined him. This was an unusual basement not counting that is in Florida. The bottom is sand and the height varies from 3-4 feet all the way to 15-20 feet from either sand filling in the building or it sinking. Unlike most basements it was not one room but many different rooms separated by nice red brick walls and arched entries which created the effect of a labyrinth.

Random pipes or roots jut out from the walls causing you to crawl around almost on all fours the entire time. The longer hallway pictured was 4 or less feet high and left me nearly crawling as I am 6'3. The Size of the basement and the labyrinth feeling that all of the twists and turns gave it makes me think that is extends between the buildings wings and maybe a bit beyond the building itself. We got slightly lost in the catacombs (hehe) below the school and for a bit I was alone taking pictures with no outside light and my Maglight cut off. It was very creepy only feeling the slightly cool breeze in the pitch blackness.

Then I found the archway for under the auditorium which had the creepy BEWARE sign above it and only left enough room to crawl through by myself into the darkness. I found my way into the "Boiler Room" which used to have an outside entrance but it was welded and bricked over. I was greeted with something from every childhood nightmare or horror movie. I could not help but take pictures and use my lights to create evil effects.

Waiting in the darkness for the 30 seconds of exposure to finish on my camera we could not help but laugh and giggle nervously about how creepy everything was and how this was the site where the explosion happened and killed the people above.

All of my light sources got used for effect so we all sat in the darkness with a few shivers going up my neck as I took each picture.

This is defiantly a place I would not go without company. My mind would torture me.

www.flickr.com/photos/48912544@N00/sets/72157622300292267/

This article has been viewed 2197 times in the last 8 weeks

jack: great story and pictures.

Sean Hopkins: Amazing post! Love this.

a game?: sanzay, you need to watch STAY ALIVE.

Comment on this article..

[previous] :: [next]