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

  • 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.

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