The Unbelievable Cost of Building This Texas High School

Some things can withstand the test of Time. And one of these things is Lubbock High School.

I came across some historical photos of Lubbock High School the other day and I was surprised at how much the building, located at 2004 19th Street, looked exactly like the one I pass every day. Every brick, every shingle, still in place.

THC, Google Maps

I'm a geek for history, of course, so I did a turned to the internet and did a little poking around to see what I could find out about Lubbock High School.

Turns out, there's quite the story, with a little drama sprinkled in.

Construction began in 1930

The school's website thankfully has a meaty section on the history of the building. My, my, my! The things I found out.

According to the website, the school board set aside $650,000 for the new high school to be built where it stands on 19th Street. The location itself was quite controversial, as a number of parents thought the location was too far and fretted about their children having to "ride their horses too far to go to school".

THC, Google Maps

Some things never change, right? But, back to the construction.

Top Quality, Top Dollar

Apparently, the contractor in charge was real nitpicky about quality and craftsmanship. He refused to compromise on materials, to the point of depleting the $650,000 set aside while only halfway through construction.

Whoops.

He managed to come up with the remaining funds to finish building the school by selling his family's share of oil fields in East Texas. Which is respectable. It's not often you hear of a man who will honor his end of the bargain.

THC, Google Maps

However, according to the website, after the construction of Lubbock High School was finished in 1931, he would never take on another building project again.

Ouch, poor guy's wallet really felt the blow. Out of curiosity, I decided to head over to the official government inflation calculator to see how much $650,000 in 1930 would be today. Are you ready for the result?

$11,619,833.33

I think it's safe to say that you definitely get what you pay for.

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One of the biggest draws to living in a smaller city rather than a large one is what kind of house you can get for the same price. Here's a comparison of two homes -- one in Lubbock and ther other in Dallas -- that both cost around $500,000 and have four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Take a look at the Dallas home, followed by the one in Lubbock, below: