COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Preservationists are trying to persuade an eastern Ohio university not to demolish an historic building that student folklore suggests is haunted.
The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday (http://bit.ly/PJFjCE ) that Ohio University plans to raze the 88-year-old Ridges Building 26, or old Beacon School, before Halloween. The structure was built as a tuberculosis ward to a historically significant state mental hospital that operated on the property for more than a century beginning in 1868. It sits near a cemetery.
University officials say the building is dangerous and attracts curiosity-seekers and vandals. Police arrested 55 people in 36 incidents over the past five years for prowling or trespassing in the area.
The Athens County Historical Society says a $300,000 state grant for demolition could be used to shore up and secure the property.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
