Demolition begins at former Libbey High School

The demolition of Libbey High School begins Monday, 01/09/12, in Toledo, Ohio.

Wrecking crews have started demolishing the former Libbey High School in South Toledo, where a crane has ripped off some brick and concrete blocks from its field house on Western Avenue.

Demolition began around 1 p.m. Monday before a small crowd of neighborhood residents and graduates of the school.

Toledo Public Schools closed Libbey in 2010 after years of declining enrollment. The district estimated that the empty building costed about $160,000 a year for utilities and maintenance.

Attempts to find a buyer for the school were unsuccessful - a last-resort public auction in August turned up no bidders. The school, which opened in 1923, was named for Libbey Glass founder and philanthropist Edward Drummond Libbey. It was designed by Edwin M. Gee, supervising architect for city schools at the time.