An abandoned school building in Maryland is being refashioned into a movie studio.
The old Fairmont Heights High School, which was Prince George’s County’s first publicly funded high school built for Black students during segregation, closed in 2017 and sits fenced off to keep vandals out.
The Fairmont Heights High School Alumni Association has fought to preserve the building that opened in 1950 and its history.
“We just thought, ‘OK, is the building going to be torn down? Is it going to be burned down?’” association President Joan Crowder said. “The vandalism, all of that.”
The Prince George’s County Council recently took a step toward securing the school’s future by declaring it “surplus property,” turning it over to the Redevelopment Authority. That sets the stage for it to be turned into a movie studio and educational center that will provide opportunities for young people in the county.
“We took the baton and we ran with it because we saw our beloved Fairmont Heights just sitting there, just deteriorating. And it’s so much more than that,” alumni association Treasurer Denise Haskins said. “So, we pledged to bring it back to its glory.
In addition to a studio to attract filmmaking, it will have classroom space, offices for the association and a museum.
