A nearly 100-year-old school building in Mission is coming down. The Roosevelt School Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but Mission CISD says the building is too challenging to preserve.

Wednesday, crews were demolishing the auditorium's arch. Chain link fencing was set around the building. Workers operated heavy machinery around the entryway.

Much of the grounds will be turned into a parking lot.

"I'm still heartbroken," said Irma Flores Lopez. She attended the campus in the late 1960s.

"I wish there would have been a town hall meeting maybe for them to get feedback," she said.

The auditorium was listed on the Register in 2002. The list of sites maintained by the National Parks Service does not put additional requirements on private owners or local governments that  seek to modify their property.

Craig Verly, Mission CISD's spokesperson, said, tried to work with interested parties and raise funds for renovations.

"The building had not been usable by the district for many years and had been deemed unsafe by structural engineers in November 2020," said Verly. "The condition of the auditorium building was also impacting the use of other portions of the campus, including classrooms that were a part of the original school."

Contractors will continue the demolition process. Verley said they've been instructed to save parts of the original building to keep as a memorial.

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