It's located at Lyons and Gregg, on the northeast side. Residents and activists say they were caught off guard when the equipment rolled in on a holiday weekend.
The building has been through several name changes, but it will always be the old Wheatley High School to many, where Congress members Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland went to class, as well as County Commissioner El Franco Lee and jazz pianist Joe Sample.
At a rally on Monday, members of the historic Wheatley/EO Smith preservation coalition say they were blindsided by this demolition. They claim the district's own architect said the building was solid and the residents say the last meeting they left they were satisfied by what they thought the preservation plans were.
"You lied, you lied, you lied and the truth ain't in you," said resident Kathy Blueford-Daniels. "We left here believing that you were going to respect the wishes of this community."
HISD says a new preparatory academy will be on the site of what's now the EO Smith Education Center and the academy will incorporate some of the original architecture.
HISD issued the following statement:
- "We have heard the community's concerns about attempting to preserve the former H.P. Carter building, which also served as Wheatley High School. On Saturday, district leadership agreed to explore the possibility of preserving a portion of the original 1929 building. On Sunday, our contractors conducted exploratory activities to better understand the condition of that portion of the facility.
What we discovered was not encouraging. The current brittle condition of the materials and the construction of the building would make it difficult to preserve this portion of the building.
Today, the district's legal department received a petition requesting a temporary restraining order to stop any demolition activities. We respect the legal process and will wait to hear the judge's response.
We recognize the need to incorporate the community's history when building schools that serve 21st century students and look forward to creating a 21st Century School for Young Men's College Preparatory Academy."