NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — It’s the end of an era for a Pasco County High school building. Gulf High School in New Port Richey is being demolished after almost 50 years. And, as you can imagine, the memories there run deep.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Gulf High School being demolished was built in the 1970s, according to students

  •  Gulf High School students moved out of the old building after winter break into the new building

  •  The old school building is located directly behind the new school

  • The demolition project is expected to take four weeks to complete

On Wednesday, people watched as file cabinets and mangled desks were tossed out of the window to the ground.

A construction site is not how Cookie Kountoupis wants to remember her beloved Gulf High School.

“I think the building is going to go down, but the memories are gonna stay there forever. And they are a lot of good memories,” she said.

She first heard about the school being demolished from an unlikely place: her job, where she works as an office manager.

“My boss left to do an estimate of New Port Richey and he said, ‘I’m going to look at a high school in Pasco County that they’re taking down in New Port Richey, Florida.’ And I said, ‘What high school?’ He said, ‘Gulf High.’ And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the school I graduated from,’” she said.

It was sad news for the place that meant so much to her as an active teenager. “Oh my gosh, senior class president. I was the president, homecoming court, prom queen, all the social things,” she said.

She said her boss made her a deal. If they got the job to tear the school down, she would get the first crack at taking the building down.

So she took a swing on Wednesday. And then another. She quickly realized it’s not as easy as it looks.

“It didn’t want to come down,” she said.

About a dozen of her former classmates watched as she tried to take a chunk of the building down before the professionals took over.

The old building is directly behind the newly built Gulf High School. Current students attended classes in the old building, according to district officials. It wasn’t until after the winter break that they moved into the new building, making them part of the history here, too.

For Virginia Metzkez, being able to say she attended classes here is a club she’s lucky to be a part of.

“It is a big deal. It’s the end of an era,” she said. “It’s just like it’s coming down — it’s part of my history. It’s like a house. Your first home. So it’s just sad to see something go that was a part of my life.”

It’s the end of an era that included their infamous ramp and countless memories.

“Homecoming week was my best memory and going up and down the ramp — and that’s a big part of this school too, the ramp — because you would always meet someone at the ramp. Hey, I’m at the top of the ramp or I’m at the bottom of the ramp,” Metzkez said.

She showed up for a final goodbye to the school that means so much. “Goodbye, thank you for the memories, we’ll miss you. Bittersweet, sorry. We’ll miss ya. Lot of good memories,” she said.

It’s a goodbye to a place that will live on as long as the people keep its memory alive.

The demolition project is expected to take four weeks to complete. It’s located directly behind the new school. There is no word on what the district plans to do with the land once it’s cleared.