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Bingham Junior High
7552 Wyandotte
This building would make the perfect setting for a postapocalyptic thriller, especially if your end-of-days scenario is set in the 1980s. Or bring the wrecking ball, because with direct access to the Trolley Trail, these grounds would also make an ideal property for a new housing development in this upper-crust section of Waldo.
History: Namesake George Caleb Bingham was a 19th-century American artist and statesman who helped lead Missouri’s fight against secession from the Union. The 48-year-old school’s colorful history includes authorities tear-gassing students in the 1970s and a kid shooting himself in the foot during an assembly in 1992. It closed in 2002, and weeds have since taken over what must have been grassy gardens between its buildings.
Square footage: 64,922
Price: $1.2 million
C.R. Anderson
9701 East 35th Street
Manicured lawns and quaint rehabbed homes surround this brick behemoth, with its stately half-circle drive and big oak trees out front. Your condo conversion or new estate could be part of an Independence revival.
History: The school district annexed Anderson in 1957, and it wasn’t included in the school transfer that voters approved last year. Originally known as the Pitcher School, in the 1980s it became a school of last resort for students in danger of dropping out. It closed in 2000.
Square footage: 19,071
Price: $624,572
Greenwood School
3711 East 27th Street
Remove those pigeons roosting everywhere and convert this into a respectable world headquarters for your megacorporation on busy and perhaps someday thriving East 27th Street.
History: Greenwood had just two teachers when it opened in 1900, but with Kansas City booming, it grew in 10 years to more than 21 rooms, a gym and two manual-arts rooms before closing in 1997. Neighbors now find the paved playground convenient for unwanted bags of trash.
Square footage: 22,225
Price: $207,335
Paul Robeson Middle School
8201 Holmes
Imagine impressing your clients when you convert this building, with its unique geometric esplanade, into a business headquarters. This great south KC location is near highways, shopping and good private schools.
History: Named after the black Shakespearean actor, opera singer and civil rights activist, the school converted to a classical Greek magnet school in 1990. That gave way to a traditional middle school program in 1998, and the building closed in 2004.
Square footage: 102,724
Price: $3.2 million
Seven Oaks Elementary
3711 Jackson
This school comes complete with expansive grounds, perfect for an English garden to surround this condo conversion or future estate. The entrances include Craftsman-style stonework and Art Deco flourishes.
History: Seven Oaks was actually a district unto itself before it was annexed by the city in 1913. It’s named for a neighbor who came from Sevenoaks, England. It closed in 2003.
Square footage: 20,684
Price: $340,412
Frances Willard School
5015 Garfield
This series of red-and-black buildings with clay tile roofs and intricate stonework could easily anchor a tony part of town. The arched windows and European-style towers could be the selling points for a mixed-use development of condos and businesses.
History: Named after a famous temperance worker, the school started out with 37 kids and a principal named Rose Wickey. Each of Willard’s classrooms featured doors that opened onto the playground of the sprawling campus. It closed in 1998.
Square footage: 37,809
Price: $276,768
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