
Hosmer Elementary School
4365 Newport St, Detroit, MI 48215
-Abandoned 2004
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History of Hosmer Elementary School
Hosmer Elementary School is a abandoned school on the East side of Detroit that was built in 1921, and construction finished in 1923. A second addition was added in 1925, and reclassifed the school as a K-12 school. The addition also brought the student capacity up by 540 students. In 1926 the Detroit Free Press called Hosmer “"The new Hosmer Intermediate School is one of the most modern in Detroit, and is a model of construction and appointments". Not much is known about Hosmer during its time as a school, but by the 2000s the neighborhood around Hosmer was largely cleared of blighted houses replaced by empty field of once memories, and student population had dropped heavily. In 2004 Detroit Public Schools decided to close Hosmer, making it a extremely early closure inside the District during the early 2000s. Since 2004 Hosmer has suffered significant vandalism and most notably water damage, however many walls retain their original paint well. George Hosmer also has a former Detroit Public library after him that was burned in 2016 after it had been abandoned in 2007. Today it has been renovated into a Macro Connect, an IT consulting firm.
Additional Reading
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Geogre S. Hosmer was born in Detroit, May 15, 1855 where he resided until his death. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in 1875. Soon after, he began to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1877. From 1877 until he became a judge on January 1, 1888, he practiced his profession in Detroit as an associate in Griffin & Dickinson with which he had studied. "When Judge Hosmer was less than 33 years of age he became a judge of the Wayne circuit court and continued in that office until he died, more than 33 years later. No judge of that court ever took office better equipped to perform his judicial duties. He had had a varied and extensive experience as a trial lawyer. He had been a very active and very successful trial lawyer. Everyone, therefore, had high expectations of this young judge when he first ascended the bench. He more than fulfilled these expectations. At once he proved himself an excellent judge and he continued thereafter to grow in excellence...." "He had individual qualities which will be hereafter referred to. But those which did most to make him the extraordinarily good judge that he was were those possessed by all good judges - integrity, learning, wisdom, courage, industry, fair mindedness and an inflexible determination to decide every case that came before him in accordance with the principles of law applicable thereto.

Recollection from the author
Hosmer was a very interesting school, with a very once interesting past you could see throughout the school. Much of the layout of Hosmer was very similar to the Guyton School, with a paint scheme of the Courville School. Which in my eyes is one of the best 1+1s you can have in a school. A true killer combo of the best abandoned schools in Detroit. Thought it is likely Hosmer will be demolished in the coming years, it’s one of those schools you feel the privilege and honor to have been able to document it.
1st floor hallway from a staircase
Main section of 1st floor hallway
1st floor small northern hallway
A mini mural likely by students about the color purple
More further down the short northern 1st floor hallway
All lockers have been scrapped out long ago
Towards the middle of the 1st floor hallway lies the main entrance to the school
Main entrance staircase
Gymnasium shot 1 (Note the very similar designs between the Guyton School and Hosmer)
Gymnasium shot 2
Gymnasium shot 3
Gymnasium shot 4
Gymnasium shot 5 (note the similarly to Guyton and also note the stairs for later reference
Hallway next to the Gymnasium
Auditorium shot 1
Auditorium shot 2 (Drywall has covered the once auditorium balcony however the ledge accent remains intact)
Auditorium shot 3
Auditorium exit
1st floor classroom
Display case in the 1st floor hallway
1st floor staircase on the northern short hallway
Main 1st floor staircase
2nd floor hallway shot 1
Longshot of the 2nd floor hallway shot 2
2nd floor hallway shot 3 (note the water damage holes in the ceiling in sections)
2nd floor hallway shot 4
2nd floor hallway shot 5
Small hallway on northern side of the school
Similar to the Guyton School a very small hallway is present in the school
Original books left behind on the 2nd floor
A 2nd floor classroom (many classrooms on the second floor are in very poor shape due to a lack of windows due to scrapping and open air)
same 2nd floor classroom
Another 2nd floor classroom
Another 2nd floor classroom
Room 211 shot 1
Room 211 shot 2
Heavy water damage observed in room 211 shot 3
Room 211 shot 4
Water damage has collapsed one of the walls of a 2nd floor classroom
A name tag on the classroom marker is just barely readable
A note left probably at the closure of the school in 2004
2nd floor staircase note the heavy water damage throughout the scene
Classrooms that sat above the Gymnasium
Gymnasium upper classrooms shot 2
Gymnasium upper classrooms shot 3
Gymnasium upper classrooms shot 4
Gymnasium upper classrooms shot 5
Gymnasium upper classrooms shot 6
2nd floor classroom
Heavy water damage has caused pieces of the ceiling to fall into the stairwell
A hole in the roof above the same stairwell
A 2nd floor classroom with a wall partly destroyed to water damage
Small northern hallway staircase from the 1st floor