Description

Mt. Vernon Township high school was expanded during the 1930s with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The school’s original building B was supplemented by three new structures Buildings A, D, and E (a classroom building, an auditorium, and a gymnasium). Credit for the structures is sometimes mis-attributed to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) (e.g., on Wikipedia, below).

In the 2010s, a new school was built 5 miles away on the SW edge of town and the old school was torn down in 2017-18, according to the Jefferson County Historical Society. Apparently, the loss of the venerable Changnon Gymnasium was bemoaned by many in the community.  

For an article on the demolition in the Mt. Vernon (IL) Register-News (itself closed down 2018!), see:

http://mvths.socs.net/pages/History/Articles/2008_ChangnonGymnasium.pdf

For reminiscences of the old gym, see:

http://hiddengyms.blogspot.com/2011/04/restraining-mt-vernon.html

and from 2016, final game at the gym:

https://gregghampton.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/goodbye-changnon-gym/