The History of Carnot
Situated at the intersection of University Boulevard and Moon Clinton Road, the Carnot building has been around nearly as long as Moon Area School District. Originally constructed to house grades seventh to twelve, the thick-walled concrete building served as Moon's junior and senior schools until the Moon-Crescent merger created Moon Area School District.
The current middle school, then high school, opened in 1954. From there, Carnot housed generations of elementary students before it was closed for good. Highlights of its history include a time capsule, which has been salvaged, a 1974 visit from U.S. President Gerald Ford a day after pardoning Richard Nixon and a Cold War stint as a bomb shelter.
Since talk of secondary campus renovations began five years ago, Carnot has been slated for demolition. That fate came to fruition in summer 2008. For eight weeks, two cranes shattered thick, concrete walls diminishing the building to rubble and allowing a view of Moon Stadium never before seen in the district’s history.
In time, that corner of campus will become the district’s tennis courts after a period as construction parking. And even though the building, which saw thousands of students pass through its doors, no longer exists, its presence will be felt forever on Moon Area’s secondary campus. Contractors plan to grind the building’s concrete walls into filler that will be used throughout campus.
