Built in 1921, the current Owatonna High School will be going into retirement for students and teachers in the fall of 2023. The school will not host students anymore as they will be attending the new high school on 18th Street, so the antique OHS will be put to new use.

Although the Owatonna School District will be adding a new high school for future generations, the old high school will hold special memories and history for the city and community members of Owatonna. OHS Principal Mr. Kory Kath said, “I think for a lot of people, the special value of OHS is that it holds a lot of history and memories for people. I think that probably is the biggest connector for community members, as well as this has been a literal pillar but a foundation within our community.” The current building has been the only high school for the city of Owatonna for a century, which leaves multiple generations of community members with the sweet memories of their high school days. 

As the new school construction moves along smoothly, a decision has to be made on what will happen to the current building. The gymnasium will be used for the OHS Gymnastics team, the C-plaza wing will be used as the new district office and the agriculture building will be used for the maintenance program. As for the rest of the building, the school district has entered into an agreement with a developer to decide what will be done with the remainder of the building. Buildings and Grounds Coordinator Mr. Bob Olson said, “After six months, the developer will propose his idea and the school board and district will make a decision whether to move forward with the developer or to do something on their own.” The gym, agriculture building, and C-plaza wing will be blocked from the decision of the investor. 

The current and soon-to-be old OHS makes a great building to work with. Olson said, “One of the best characteristics of the building is its location being right in the middle of town.” The building comes with a full size track, lots of green space and tennis courts. Whatever is decided to do with the building, it holds many characteristics that will make it an ideal piece of architecture for the community of Owatonna. 

The school board discussed with the developer to have final decisions on November 1, 2022. The new OHS is still on track to be welcoming students in for the 2023-2024 school year. Below is the May 2022 progress and updates.