The History of Foch Intermediate School | 2962 Fairview Street

Marshal Ferdinand Foch Intermediate School, Foch Intermediate School, Foch Middle School

As we speak, this school is being demolished. Despite being structurally sound, architecturally significant, and historically relevant, the Detroit School Board decided it was time for it to come down. More on that later, though. Buckle up: this is a long one!

In April 1923, the Detroit Board of Education adopted a plan drawn up by then-Superintendent of Schools Frank Cody to expand the Detroit Public School system. Cody was instrumental in leveraging funds to build new schools in the city. Additionally, Cody was the first president of the recently renamed Wayne University from 1933 to 1942. He continued as the Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools from 1919 to 1942 and served on Detroit's City Council from 1942 until 1946. He died that year, and a new high school was named in his honor in 1952.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Cody's plan for the Detroit Public School system was to "hasten construction of 13 new school buildings for which it is expected there will be available $4,382,217.61," which is nearly $80,000,000 in 2024. The school pictured here was to be called Marshal Foch Intermediate School. It was set to have a capacity of about 2,000 students.

The structure, designed by Vernor, Wilhelm, and Molby, had a formal opening ceremony on December 18, 1925.

At the ceremony, a bust of Marshal Foch sculpted by Frenchman Firmin Michelet was gifted to the school from the French government. General G. A. L. Dumont, Military Attache of the French Embassy, presented the art piece to students, military personnel, and city officials. The French government retained a second bust by Firmin Michelet. There's a photo of Foch receiving what looks like an identical bust in Paris on July 13, 1919.

Despite his name losing its luster thanks to the sands of time (and another world conflict shortly after his death), Marshal Ferdinand Foch was a household name in this era. He was the Supreme Allied Commander during World War One and wrote numerous books. To much fanfare, he visited Detroit on November 7, 1921. Detroit still had a sizable French population at that time. The Detroit Free Press lauded him as "the greatest figure in military history since Napoleon." Detroit Mayor James Couzens wasn't shy in thanking the hero; "we doubly honor you, for you represent the blood of Cadillac and the other noble Frenchmen who founded our city." Foch died in March 1929, shortly before the Detroit Board of Education decided to honor his legacy through the school pictured here.

According to the Detroit Free Press, "a considerable number of the 1,760 attendants of the school are of French ancestry. Principal Gunn said Friday the attendance at the beginning of the next semester will be about 2,300." Early on, yearly memorials were held for Foch at the school. However, the surrounding neighborhood would soon see an influx of immigrants from other European countries, and much of its French heritage was lost.

From the jump, Foch was an impressive school academically and athletically. Students were constantly honored for their accomplishments in the classroom and on the sports fields of Belle Isle.

In May 1927, Hulda Fornell won the State of Michigan Spelling Bee, an annual event held at the State Fair Coliseum. According to the Detroit Free Press, there were 16,000 spectators in attendance to see Hulda win the right to go to the National Championships in Washington as the representative from Michigan.

Southeastern, right next door, was a pathway for many students academically and in sports. Many pupils went from middle school at Foch to high school at Southeastern, and the schools share some athletic facilities. It's easy to imagine middle schoolers dreaming of joining the Southeastern Jungaleers baseball, football, and track and field teams. The term 'Jungaleer' comes from the rural (jungle) setting around the school when it opened in 1917.

On March 15, 1929, Cecil Atkins, a 14-year-old student, was killed at the school. He and two classmates were moving empty milk bottles onto a dumb waiter on the third floor to be moved down to the ground floor. After loading them up, Cecil decided to ride down in the mini-elevator. On the way down, his foot caught an exposed beam in the shaft, causing the elevator to get stuck. Eventually, the compartment crashed down to the ground floor, fracturing his skull, which caused his death. His father planned to file a damage suit against the school. Cecil planned to go to Southeastern and loved sports.

Foch Intermediate was known for its woodshop and hands-on programs, often drawing city-wide attention in competitions in power boats and model planes. Additionally, the theatre program was strong, with multiple productions per year. The auditorium at Foch wasn't huge, but it was special—ornate light fixtures perched on the ceiling with iridescent shades of green painted onto the ornate plaster.

In May 1930, janitor Demas Allard, 72, was found unconscious inside the school after going missing for 18 hours. He had suffered an apoplectic stroke and was taken to Receiving Hospital, where doctors weren't certain he'd survive.

In March 1932, the school hosted the Foch Fun Carnival for students and their families. There were clowns, a marionette show, and a minstrel show put on by the male teachers at Foch. Although not uncommon for the era, it's wild to think that your teachers would utilize blackface as a form of entertainment. Additionally, there were basketball games and swimming events in the pool. At the end of the day, a Carnival King and Queen were crowned.

By October 1932, Southeastern High and Foch Intermediate housed a combined 4,327 students. The pipeline between the two schools was commonly used; however, some students went to other schools, like Cass Tech, after leaving Foch.

Edward Hutchenreuther, a 14-year-old student at Foch, made the newspaper in June 1936; however, it wasn't for reasons his parents would have expected. Ten boys at Foch Intermediate lit firecrackers inside the school cafeteria as a prank, leading to their teacher marking 'expelled' on their report cards. An honor student, Hutchenreuther was devastated. He went home, grabbed two travel trunks, and left, not telling anyone where he was going. Unbeknownst to him, his principal had sent a letter home stating that it was a big misunderstanding and that he would be allowed to move on to the next grade.

A week later, the youth was still missing. His family, who lived in Alden Park Manor, thought he may have gone to New York or Washington because he always talked about wanting to go to both cities.

Nine weeks later, he was back with his family in Detroit. He had taken a bus to Pittsburgh and, according to the Detroit Free Press, "from then on it was city after city, state after state, sometimes by freight car, sometimes by truck and a good deal of the time walking." He did odd jobs to make money, eventually ending up at his grandmother's house near Norfolk, Virginia. He returned home after that.

In May 1939, a survey showed how well-attended Foch Intermediate was. Between September 1938 and April 1939, 1,685 students out of the average enrollment of 2,050 had never been tardy, and 491 had never been absent.

Students from Foch, alongside relevant staff members, had formed a music appreciation club by 1939, adding to an already jam-packed list of after-school programs from sports to the arts.

In June 1948, two students went on a vandalism spree at the school. Their dirty work coincided with damages done at the Marxhausen School, so the police thought that the two were related. More than $10,000 in damages were reported between the two buildings, roughly $130,000 in 2024.

Eventually, the duo responsible were found out. Anthony Russo, 15, and Gerald Ritchie, 14, were held at McClellan Station. Both boys had recently gotten in trouble for stealing cars. Russo was the first to crack and implicated Ritchie as his accomplice. They said they broke into the school because they were upset with their teachers and mad that some of their friends had been transferred to Marxhausen. They set out to destroy the records office, but their spree didn't stop there.

In addition to destroying the records room, one of the swimming pools was littered with garbage, chairs were ripped up and destroyed, the grand piano was tipped over, and, most devastatingly, the priceless bust of Marshal Foch that had been gifted to the school by the French nearly a quarter century prior was smashed to bits.

County prosecutors wanted to throw the book at them; however, they were youths, so they were tried in Juvenile Courts. They were sentenced to the Boy's Vocational School in Lansing until they turned 19. They could be released on parole based on their behavior.

Later that year, Russo's family was in the news again. Anthony's younger brother, Carl, 13, went to the police after his father brutally beat him. He came home from the movies to find his dad, Antonio, at the door. He claimed that his father had slammed the door on his face, thrown him into a chair, hit him numerous times, bit his ear and arm, and choked him. Carl also claimed that his father had chained him to the bed in his room on most weekends since he was just six years old. Police found marks to back up his claims of abuse and chains and a padlock attached to his bed. Carl's story was backed up by his mother, Pearl, sister, Caroline, 9, and his sister-in-law, Rosaline, 20. It's safe to say that the Russo kids weren't set up to succeed, which may have caused Anthony's outbreak that led to the destruction of the Foch bust inside the school.

In May 1950, the school celebrated its 25th anniversary with a banquet in the cafeteria. According to the Detroit Free Press, the school had enrolled 33,718 students in that time, with over 18,000 receiving diplomas from Foch. Arthur L. Miller had been principal since February 1928, and the school had had some 275 teachers since it opened.

The announcement for the 25th anniversary listed a few notable alumni so far. The Hutton sisters, Marion and Betty, both went from Foch. Betty had a longer and more successful career on the stage and silver screen, but Marion saw accomplishments in Hollywood, too. Mike Tresh, catcher for the White Sox and Indians, Don Lund, outfielder for the Dodgers, Browns, and Tigers, and Maurice Van Robays, left fielder for the Pirates, all attended Foch, too.

Later that year, Betty Hutton visited her old school. The movie star talked with her former principal, Arthur L. Miller, who had a gift for her return. He had dug up books that she had sold to classmates when she left Foch to give back to her. She was blown away by the gift despite probably not needing copies of Fundamentals of High School Mathematics, Modern Times and the Living Past, or English for Use. Reading passages from her visit reminds me of when Big Sean returns to visit Cass Tech, his former high school. To say the pupils were excited is an understatement.

On August 31, 1954, the famous steeple atop the Old North Church in Boston came crashing down into the street during Hurricane Carol. It was made famous because of the lanterns lit inside it to let Paul Revere and other horseback riders know that the British were coming. The one that crashed down wasn't original, but local groups launched a national fundraising campaign in newspapers nationwide. Students and teachers at Foch got together to raise money, sending $33.36 to Boston to help out. Little pieces of information like this found in the Detroit Free Press make it easier to relate to students who went here decades ago.

As the 1950s came to a close and the 1960s chugged on, there wasn't as much notable coverage at Foch Intermediate. Detroit's decline was already in full swing, and the way news was reported on was changing. The neighborhood surrounding Foch slowly became a black community, and the school followed suit, bleeding white residents like most of Detroit in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. In the 1970s, the school was called Foch Middle School for the first time.

Despite the name change, the school was still in the same stunning building. By this point, it showed signs of aging but was maintained. In 1978, Kenneth Ackerman, 37, died inside the heating plant behind Foch. His supervisor thought he may have used too little water to douse hot coal ashes before depositing them inside the storage hopper. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The heating plant, which used a coal boiler, serviced Foch Intermediate and Southeastern High.

In 1979, Foch had the lowest seventh-grade reading scores in Detroit. According to the Detroit Free Press, "only 18.9 percent of the students could pass the state test." Foch had always been successful academically; however, population loss and decreased funding had already started taking its toll.

In August 1984 and July 1986, there were ads in the Detroit Free Press looking for bids for work on the school. In '84, they hoped to replace the windows with modern, aluminum ones. In '86, they hoped to refurbish the auditorium seating. I'm not sure if either happened, but it's clear that the school was maintained well in the 1980s.

In 1990, the Detroit Free Press ran a story about the death of Cornelious McLemore, a 12-year-old Foch student. Despite not being about the school directly, the story reflects what it was like growing up in the neighborhoods near the school in the 1990s, when crime was a real issue for residents.

Cornelious lived on the other side of the industrial complex from the school. He wasn't the best student, but passed his classes and loved basketball and gymnastics. That considered, it might not be a surprise that he loved jumping on the faux trampolines he and his friends would make in vacant lots using discarded box springs and mattresses.

One afternoon, not unlike any other, someone dared an older kid to throw an applesauce jar at Cornelious. The jar flew across the vacant lot, bounced off an exposed mattress spring, and hit the 12-year-old in the head. His skull was fractured, and he died after sitting in a coma in the hospital. Accidents happen, but I found Cornelious' story to be contagiously melancholy.

What happened to Cornelious was an accident, but crime around the school had become an issue by the 1990s. There were shootings, stabbings, and fights in the neighborhood around the school, making it hard for students to focus on their studies. In February 1993, DuJuan Hill, an 8th grader at Foch, was shot in the stomach and arm outside Marcus Garvey Academy nearby. He was in the hospital for several days before returning to school. Several shootings near Marcus Garvey sent waves through the community and at Foch. Today, Marcus Garvey Academy is at Van Dyke and Kercheval.

Allen Hudson, 13, had a decision to make as a Foch student. He told the Detroit Free Press in 1993 that classmates had pressured him to join a gang earlier in the school year. He said, “Forget it. I ain't down with nobody."

In September 1994, vandals struck Foch Middle School. They smashed windows, broke the glass in the classroom doors, broke trophy cases, and spray-painted the walls inside. The authorities were puzzled about how they got in without tripping the school's alarm system. Despite making it into the paper, the culprits in 1994 didn't get nearly as much media coverage as Anthony Russo and Gerald Ritchie did almost a half-century prior.

In January 1996, Foch Intermediate had its own Mini Million Man March Program. The event was the brainchild of journalism teacher Harry Burkey with the assistance of music director Byron Johnson. Speeches from Abraham Lincoln, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Louis Farrakhan, and Maya Angelou were given by students and faculty. Parents and more than 700 students looked on as 8th grader Kevin Martin, 13, gave Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have A Dream' speech and was awarded a crown.

In 1997, 16 Foch Middle School students traveled to Marquette to meet kids at Graveraet Middle School. While in the Upper Peninsula, the kids visited Northern Michigan University and explored Presque Isle. Having visited the park, I can't help but wonder whether they jumped off the Black Rocks into Lake Superior. The children stayed with host families of students at Graveraet.

In August 1998, the Detroit Free Press posted the year's bell times for the various schools across the Motor City. Today, this seems like information that shouldn't necessarily be made public; however, without the internet and email in every home, the paper was still a good way to connect with families. At Foch Middle School, entrance time was at 7:55, tardy time was at 8:00, and the exit bell was at 2:30.

Despite what many might think, many Detroit schools saw improvements in test scores in the 1990s and 2000s despite still lagging behind the state average. The trend was positive, but results were spotty and hard to predict. According to the Detroit Free Press, 96% of kids at Chrysler Elementary School in Lafayette Park scored satisfactory or better in' 97-'98, and only 9% of kids at Foch did. These schools are only a few miles apart, but the neighborhoods surrounding them couldn't have been more different, which might explain such a wide gap.

In January 2001, an excerpt in the 'From Our Readers' portion of the Detroit Free Press indicated the current state of the structure that houses Foch Middle School at 2962 Fairview Street. Ralph Stormer, a 1930s graduate of Foch and Southeastern, wrote about a recent visit to the school. "I was surprised and amazed when I saw them, especially the interiors. They are in excellent shape. The old adage of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is well represented at these two schools."

In April of that year, another advertisement in the Detroit Free Press sought bids for work on the school. This time, it was to replace the roofs of numerous schools, including Foch. Considering how much work was done to upkeep Foch Middle School in the latter years of its existence, it's no surprise that it was still in such good condition when demolition crews showed up in January 2024.

In February 2002, Edward Parker, a 7th grader at Foch Middle School, wrote to the Detroit Free Press about the city's new mayor. "Kilpatrick might be young, but if he wants to continue to be mayor, I have a message for him: Take the earring out. The mayor should concentrate on being the mayor, not being handsome. His focus should be on bringing up Detroit…I am planning to be America's first black president. I will do it without an earring."

In the Spring of 2002, the school district released new plans to close and renovate schools. According to Census data, Detroit lost 7.5% of its population from 1990 to 2000 and would lose 25% more in the decade that followed. This led to rampant school closures and the misuse of dwindling funds because Detroit was shrinking at an unprecedented rate.

As a part of the plan, Marcus Garvey Academy was set to move into the former Scripps Elementary building. Scripps students were allowed to attend Garvey or attend Howe on Garland Street. Southeastern would be heavily remodeled, and students would be housed in Foch Middle School until the work was complete. Students at Foch were sent to Garvey, which would now be on Hurlbut Street in the former Scripps Elementary School building. This was a microcosm of the changes in the Detroit school system at the time, but the plan was underway.

However, work wouldn't begin for a while. In May 2002, students at Foch Middle School were a part of an innovative new project. They were given PocketPC computers, GPS units, ArcExplorer, and ArcPad mapping software to pinpoint issues in the community surrounding their school. According to the Detroit Free Press, they plotted abandoned vehicles, vacant buildings, destroyed portable toilets, and mountains of trash on the side of the road and in vacant lots. They presented their findings to the Detroit City Council, who were impressed and vowed to send more resources to their community. The project focused on how hard it was for students to stay on task at school when their commute to and from it was so dire.

After work was completed on Southeastern, it appears that there were no plans to reopen Foch Intermediate Middle School. The last students to walk the hall weren't middle schoolers but high schoolers waiting for their building to be completely renovated. Likely, as population loss continued to ravage Detroit, there weren't enough pupils to warrant reopening Foch.

The last plan for students was for Foch to house Southeastern 9th graders. This is often used as a tactic for students to get acclimated to high school before being in classes with students of all grades. However, I'm unsure if this plan ever happened. It was supposed to be implemented in 2005, but all reports state that the school closed in 2004.

After the school closed, it was mostly spared from vandals and scrappers thanks to its proximity to Southeastern. It was easy for security, faculty, community members, and students to look after it because it was close to an active school. Seriously, these two buildings were right on top of each other.

Foch Intermediate became a hot spot for urban exploration and ruin photography around 2014. However, it was never as blown out as many other schools in Detroit got, again, thanks to the presence of Southeastern.

Foch sat at 2962 Fairview Street, as it had for nearly a century, awaiting new life as a school, community center, or mixed-use development. The bones were in great shape, and renovating it would have cost dramatically less than other vacant schools in the Detroit Public School's catalog.

The school district slapped a $20.8 million estimate for renovation costs on the structure, which isn't half bad even when you consider they probably over-estimated (remember, they're actively tearing this structure down). District officials touted that the price to renovate it is dramatically more than the cost to tear it down, bringing $2.6 million to the Adamo Group for the work. Again, this number shouldn't be seen as the norm. The City gives Adamo a ton of demolition work, so you have to expect a lower price from them than would be the market rate.

You didn't have to study Betty Hutton's copy of Fundamentals of High School Mathematics to know that $20.8 million is more than $2.6 million. However, that is only part of the story. Foch is being demolished to make way for a new school building. According to Chalkbeat Detroit, the structure will provide career technical education for Southeastern students. No details have been released about how large this structure will be, what it will cost, or what skills students will be able to learn there.

The new programs for students are fantastic; however, if Detroit Public Schools pay a penny more than $18.2 million for this facility, they've robbed themselves. I understand it isn't that simple, but as I stood on Fairview Street looking at the partially demolished school, I couldn't help but be angry at their plan. Education is more important than architecture; however, if an opportunity exists to promote new educational facilities and preserve historic architecture, why isn't that a no-brainer?

According to Chalkbeat Detroit, Superintendent Vitti said that Foch was "run-down" and "not worth the investment to renovate."

I spoke with two security guards, likely employed by Adamo to protect their equipment, and one told me that they were saving the bricks from the school, which is excellent. I assume they have a value; otherwise, they wouldn't do it. The most shocking thing to me about this demolition is the negligence by city officials regarding the ornate details on the Fairview Street side of the school. There are three huge decorative crests: one with the State of Michigan's Great Seal, one with the Seal of the City of Detroit, and one with the Lamp of Knowledge (sometimes called the Lamp of Learning) and the year the school was built.

These are artistically beautiful, historically significant, and probably worth thousands. Why wouldn't you try to save these pieces if you're tearing down the structure? They would be a monumental nod to the school that once stood there and could be placed at the entrance to the new tech center that the district claims they are building.

Like numerous other structures I've done long posts on, this one feels like a massive miss by Detroit schools. You can invest in education and historical preservation at the same time. Maybe I'll see what they build here and eat my words, seeing that it wasn't possible to do whatever program they planned inside such an old structure. Or, maybe they’ll end up saving the ornate plaques atop the structure. However, only time can tell whether that's true.

I have a little else to say about this structure right now. If you have the time, head to 2961 Fairview Street to see the ornate pieces atop the former Foch Intermediate School before they're reduced to rubble.

Oh, and by the way, it's pronounced Fōhsh.

2962 Fairview Street

531 South Harbaugh Street

10814 Mack Avenue