5. Detroit, Michigan’s Southwestern High School
Location: Michigan’s Detroit
The year is 1922.
The price to demolish: $900,000.

Approximately 1,600 students attended Southwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan, but it is currently closed and gradually falling into disrepair. The school was founded in 1922 and ran until 2012, when parents received a letter informing them that Southwestern was closing.
Detroit, Michigan’s Southwestern High School (@atlasobscura/Pinterest)
Annual enrollment had been falling, and Southwestern was among the state’s worst-performing institutions. Due to concerns about congestion and violence, neighboring schools were reluctant to accept Southwestern’s kids. Eventually, however, they were forced to accept Southwestern, and it was shuttered and abandoned.
