A carcass of traditional print media: Inside the former Herald-Times building

A month ago, on April 8, the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) published notice in the Herald-Times that it is hiring a broker to sell the “real property owned by the Corporation located at 1900 S. Walnut Street, Bloomington, Indiana.”

That’s the address of the former Herald-Times building, across the street from Bloomington South High School. The planned sale by MCCSC comes just four years after buying the property for just under $3 million. In March 2026, the school board voted unanimously to put the property up for sale and is now in the process of hiring a broker.

The last edition of the Herald-Times newspaper that was printed here in Bloomington was Feb. 3, 2020. Print operations for the newspaper then moved to Indianapolis.

A year earlier, in January 2019, the Herald-Times was purchased by GateHouse Media, which merged with Gannett seven months later. Today, the Herald-Times employs eight staff members. In the 1970s, the paper employed 100 full-time and 50 part-time staff.

H-T employees continued working in the building until the property was sold to MCCSC in 2022. Then-superintendent Jeff Hauswald had unspecified plans to turn it into a welcome center, meeting space, and use it to centralize district-wide services.

The district’s decision to sell the property came after collecting feedback from the community about its use or sale. After evaluating an analysis of 408 comments from the community, the board summed up the breakdown as a roughly even split between using the property for a school-related purpose and selling it.

The property is zoned for commercial use. According to a district presentation, the eight-acre site has just six usable acres due to approximately two acres of floodplain, as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The building has more than 77,000 square feet, which includes office space, storage, loading docks, and large span areas. The property also has over 170 parking spaces.

The photos below document the current contents of the building, which include the printing press.

Photos: Former Herald-Times Building

Photos in this set are organized by sections. The interior shots below were taken on April 29, 2026. A full set of exterior photographs is included in previous B Square coverage.

Printing press

The newspaper printing press, which has remained in the building and untouched since MCCSC’s purchase of the property, takes up a substantial portion of the building. It is three stories tall.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed a health hazard evaluation of the press in September 1976. It identified the machinery at the time as a “4-unit Walter Scott press which has a maximum capacity of 41,000 newspapers per hour.”

It was on Sept. 16, 1985 when a new press, the one still in the building, starting printing the paper. The 260-ton press was manufactured by Koenig & Bauer AG.

Newspaper delivery loading docks

In this room is an overhead conveyor belt system that brings newspapers from the printing press towards the truck loading docks, which are visible on the back wall. The stacked desks and chairs reflect MCCSC’s use of the building as storage space.

Office spaces

The building has several office and desk spaces. Many of these areas look trashed, with piles of newspapers and office supplies. MCCSC has not touched these spaces.

Newspaper archive

There is a small collection of archived newspapers. Most of the papers were dated 2021 and 2022.

Other spaces

More H-T building space that hasn’t been used by MCCSC.

Apartment

Inside the Herald-Times building are two apartments. Some editors were given housing as part of their compensation, and lived in them. Shown below is one of the apartments.

MCCSC’s storage space

Several spaces in the building, mostly on the lower levels, are storing MCCSC equipment, including furniture and supplies.