Sunday, September 13, 2020

Good Shepard School & Home

 


I took several drives over the last few days trying to narrow down a list of places I wanted to locate to photograph.  In the end, I only was able to cross off three on the list.  I was thwarted by closures due to the pandemic and what seemed to be an epic amount of road construction.

This is one I was able to find.  It was once the Good Shepard School for Wayward Girls.  It was apparently founded in the 1930's and closed in 1981.  The main buildings have been designated as a historic preservations site in hopes of maintaining the facade.  The property now houses a grocery store and several shops and offices but this front entrance has been kept.

I'm willing to bet that a statue was once sitting in that little alcove near the top of the building.









I took a closer look at all the carvings around the front door.  The one of the pelican was directly above the front door and the angel to the right was along the side.

I did some research about the place and found very little information except for a blog post from someone back in 2011 when the writer related some ghost stories.  Apparently the place has a reputation of being haunted.  

"Wayward girls" has such a troubling undertone to it.  I would imagine that in the 1930's, 40's and even into the 50's any girl who wanted to be independent or wanted to do something only boys did could have been called wayward.  That thought makes me feel a bit sorry for some of the girls who lived here.


I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.   It's about windmills and castles located in an unusual place.

9 comments:

PerthDailyPhoto said...

That's a nice piece of architecture Sharon, lovely details around the door. Yes the early years would not have been pleasant for so called wayward girls ✨

Travel said...

Probably a lot of history for that building, your usual blue sky is gray

Steve Reed said...

Did they mean "wayward" as in unmarried and pregnant? Or just troublemakers? The pelican is feeding a nest of babies -- I wonder if that had to do with "wayward" in the former sense?

In any case, it's an interesting building. Maybe your local historical association would have more info on it?

Bill said...

Great architecture and details. I like the pelican, it's beautiful.

RedPat said...

I love the angel carving, Sharon! I remember there was a place here in the city when I was a kid that was run by nuns and was fir "bad" girls. Whatever that was!

Aimz said...

Nice to see vintage buildings like this still being looked after, the phrase "wayward girls" cracks me up though.

Kay said...

I suspect "wayward girls" is a euphemism for girls who got pregnant out of wedlock.

William Kendall said...

Beautiful architecture.

Susie of Arabia said...

Such beautiful detailing!