Open House Planned for Former Brewer Middle School

An open house is planned for Friday at the old Brewer Middle School on Somerset Street. The building has just recently been converted into senior housing.

Some people remember the old three-story brick building as Brewer High School. To my kids, it's Brewer Middle School. But for me, it was Brewer Junior High. I was a student there from the Fall of 1974 to the Spring of 1976. I remember hallways so narrow that they were one-way. If you had a class on the other end of the third floor, for instance, it was possible that you may have to go down the stairs, to the second floor, down the hall, and then back upstairs. Either that, or risk Mr. Smith (aka the 'Shadow') reaching out from behind a row of lockers and hauling you off to the office!

But now, the building has undergone a complete renovation. Gone are the lockers and the blackboards. Now, it's a residential housing unit for the elderly. Crews have been working all summer and now it's time to open the doors and let the community have a look!

Friday at 2 p.m., Executive Director of the Brewer Housing Authority, Gordon Stitham invites the public to an open house. It's a chance to see what the building has to offer, and to see how different it is from the years you walked the halls.

According to the Brewer Historical Society who placed the building on their own list, it's also now on the National List of Historic Places. It's nice to see the city put money into renovating a beautiful old building, rather than tearing it down to build something brand new. I'm thinking I'll stop by and take a walk down memory lane while looking at the future of 5 Somerset Street in Brewer.