More Pine Bluff High School deconstruction

Top photo: the John Allen building on the Pine Bluff High School campus. It was built in 1907-08, and torn down (bottom photo) in 1973. I attended PBHS during 1969-1972 and had many classes in the Allen building.  The other two old buildings on the campus were the Junius Jordan Building (1918) and the Woodrow Wilson building (1924, originally used as the junior high school).

Both of the above photos are from the 1974 PBHS Annual, although the top one has 60's era cars in it and the bottom one must have been taken in the early summer of '73. The annual (yearbook) was called the Zebra, after the name of the PBHS mascot. (Originally, in the early 20th Century, the yearbook was called the Pine Cone, but that later became the name of the school newspaper, and the yearbook name became the Zebra.) Most of the PBHS annuals are digitized and viewable at the Pine Bluff library website. (For some reason the 1969 yearbook isn't uploaded. I'll have to see if I can correct that oversight.) To see more of the library's digitized Pine Bluff documents, go to the library's home page,  https://www.pineblufflibrary.org,   and click on the Research tab and then Digital Collections. 

The John Allen building was the first of the three old buildings to be torn down. I recently found an article and photo in the Pine Bluff Commercial from June 4, 1973,  about the beginning of the John Allen building demolition. (I had to search for it on microfilm at the library.) And I actually remember seeing the beginning of the demolition that summer, and being shocked by it, because I felt I was partly responsible for it.

In the '71-'72 school year, as editorial editor of the Pine Cone, I'd written a few editorials that said the old buildings were fire hazards, implying without realizing it that they should be replaced by new buildings. A reporter from the Commercial interviewed me in 1972 about my editorials about the old buildings, so I'm on record (I haven't tried to look up that article on microfilm yet) as supporting the demolition of those beautiful early 20th Century Pine Bluff High School buildings, designed by Charles Thompson. Talk about Ink on His Face!

So the demolition of the old buildings began 51 years ago, and the class of 1973 was the last senior class to attend classes in the John Allen building.

I actually recall several things about the night I saw the beginning of the John Allen building demolition, which would have been close to the time it started. Brian Carty and I were both at a party in the Broadmoor neighborhood that night, and he told me the building was being torn down. Then he drove me and someone else (don't remember who) in his new VW Beetle over to look at the beginning of the demolition. This would likely have been the first weekend of June in '73. The things I remember from that night are being told that McDonald's had just started serving breakfast, and hearing the song "Monster Mash" on Brian's car radio. Brian changed stations when it came on, and I sort of registered a complaint, saying I hadn't heard it in a long time. Brian registered a counter-complaint. He said "They're playing it all the time now."  It was the beginning of the "oldies" radio sensation for my generation. A bigtime radio business now. What would it be like without such nostalgic songs easily listened to on the radio airwaves or satellite radio now? It would be a lot more nostalgic to hear the 60s and 70s songs, that's  what. "They're playing them all time now."

I now live a block from the Pine Bluff High School campus, which is currently (again) being demolished, or at least all the buildings are. The football stadium is not. The McFadden Fieldhouse was left standing 50 years ago, and so was the modern building with the cafeteria and the band and choir classrooms. But these buildings are being torn down now along with the 50 year old ones.

Above and below: Goodbye McFadden Fieldhouse.

The football stadium in the background.

This year, 2024-25, PBHS classes are being held at what was

formerly Jack Robey Junior High, on south Olive Street.