Winchester Grade School gym comes down after structural failure
A sagging ceiling spotted during the 103rd Winchester Invitational Tournament led to demolition of Winchester Grade School’s gym and a $327,100 replacement plan.
Crews tore down the Winchester Grade School gym this week, ending a shutdown that began after district officials spotted a sagging ceiling during the 103rd Winchester Invitational Tournament in January. The failure was traced to support braces extending from the gym roof, and the building was treated as unsafe for occupancy from the moment the problem was identified.
The issue surfaced on Jan. 15, 2026, forcing the remaining games of the tournament to move to Bluffs High School Gym. Staunton later beat Routt Catholic, 58-55, in the championship on Jan. 17, but the bigger story in Winchester was what had already happened to the building that normally hosted most sporting events and practices in the district. Officials said the cafeteria remained usable because the structural problem was isolated to the gym portion of the school.
The Winchester School Board received an official condemnation order on the gym at its Feb. 10 meeting, then moved ahead in a special session to demolish the building and hire Graham Hyde Architects to handle the demolition permit and start design work on a new multipurpose building. At the same time, reports said shoring towers were placed inside the condemned gym while the district planned next steps. One account said the district was also considering a temporary multipurpose facility to cover the loss of the gym’s functions.
The financial hit is significant for a small district that relied on the gym as a central indoor space. Demolition and asbestos removal were budgeted at $327,100, a cost that now sits on top of the challenge of restoring a venue that supported basketball, volleyball, practices, assemblies and other school use in Winchester, Illinois, and across Morgan County. The replacement plan remains central to the district’s next phase, because the old gym was not just another room in the building; it was the primary indoor site for daily athletic and community activity.
For Winchester families, athletes and alumni, the building’s removal closes a long-standing part of school life. For the district, it marks the start of a more expensive and complicated task: replacing a damaged gym with something that can safely serve the school’s needs while construction and planning continue.
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