GLENDALE, Ohio — More than a month after owner Bill Parish walked us through the graffiti-riddled halls of the historic Eckstein School in Glendale, community members gathered to begin cleaning and preparing the building for construction and renovations.
The large group whacked weeds, cleaned greenery and removed debris in what is the first step in restoring the once-segregated school.
Bengals center Ted Karras helped lead Tuesday's efforts, inspired after watching Parrish on WCPO 9 News in September.
“I saw Bill talking on the news about Week 2, after Monday Night Football, and what an important mission this is, and an awesome history right here in Glendale,” Karras said. “(I) really just wanted to throw my hat in and help any way I could.”
And that’s exactly what he did, bringing together his construction company Paradigm and fellow Bengals teammates like Orlando Brown Jr., Alex Cappa and Cordell Volson. Several local organizations and community members were also there to help.
“The main goal was to get people out here and understand what the mission of the Eckstein School is, and what the project is going to be. I wanna get as many eyes on it as possible,” Karras said.
That project is to use the Eckstein School building to create a cultural arts center for the community. Parrish founded the nonprofit Eckstein Cultural Arts Center with that exact goal in mind.
“All kinds of kids from everywhere, you know, creating a safe place for them to come,” Parrish said.
Dr. Raymond Terrell, an Eckstein School alum and Eckstein Cultural Arts Center board member, was at the cleanup.
“I’m really overjoyed, just really feeling elated, to see things progressing,” Terrell said. “It took a long time to get to this stage.”
He said creating a community center fits the school perfectly, showing exactly what that building once was for its students.
“The facility was more than a school,” Terrell said. “It was actually a center of culture and life for the African American community.”
Those close to the school all said they are looking forward to what’s to come, and that this will be something that will greatly benefit the community of Glendale.
Karras said he and Paradigm will be involved in the project until the very end. The current plan is to begin construction and renovations in December.
