By John Tredrea, Special Writer
LAMBERTVILLE — City officials are glad the old Lambertville High School building, which has been vacant for decades, was knocked down before Halloween. The building was demolished last week.
Lambertville Police Director Bruce Cocuzza said the abandoned high school had caused multiple problems for years.
”The site has been a magnet for kids throughout the area because it was featured in a popular publication/website, ‘Weird N.J. — Your Travel Guide to New Jersey’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets,’” Director Cocuzza said.
”The article claims that the old high school is haunted, which naturally made it an attraction to teens and 20-somethings seeking some entertainment.”
”Knocking it down before Halloween was a perfect time to get it done,” Mayor David Del Vecchio said. “Our first instinct is always to try to save something, but the neighborhood the school was is in is better off with the building gone.”
City construction official, Ken Rogers, said the city had to take developer Merrick Wilson, the owner of the school and some adjacent land, to court to get the building torn down.
He said Mr. Wilson could be fined up to the $4,000 for each week the building was left standing in spite of the order to take it down. Mr. Rogers said the amount of the fine would emerge from negotiations involving himself, the prosecutor and Mr. Wilson’s attorney.
”We issued an order in September of 2011 that it had to be taken down.”
The vacant hilltop high school building saw its last class of seniors in 1959. After that, students who would have attended it went to South Hunterdon Regional High School, which opened in 1959 and is still in operation.
The demolished building was “a highly unsafe structure,” Mr. Rogers said Saturday.
Built in 1854, Lambertville High School was largely destroyed by a 1926 fire. It was rebuilt and remodeled the next year. After students stopped attending the school, it was used as an electronics retail outlet for several years. A 1992 fire destroyed most of the building’s interior.
The city police department had patrolled the school area regularly for many years, since its condition made exploring the structure unsafe, as well as illegal. The school building was on Washington Street.
”Many young people came to the site consume alcohol and/or use drugs. We got several calls a week for trespassers. This has been the case for at least the past 15 years and we have made numerous arrests for alcohol and drug violations as well as trespassing,” Director Cocuzza said.
According to a website: “Legends of ghosts and other paranormal activity are probably the result of natural phenomena like dampness, animals, and decay of the structure itself (as well as headlights reflected off nearby Route 179).
”Contrary to myth, no grisly deaths or other events occurred on the property.”

