Leesburg High School / North Street

   This story starts with the Leesburg Academy. The Leesburg Academy was an all-boy's private school that started in 1779. When they gave their Academy building to the Loudoun County (still standing, now part of the Court building complex), they built a new 3 story school building in 1873. Due to public education (started in Virginia in 1870) being offered, the Academy did not do very well, so in 1879, they allowed their building to be used for public schools. (It was finally deeded to LCPS in 1914).

   In 1893, the academy building burned down. The exterior walls were left standing, so it was rebuilt, but its height was reduced to two stories. The school soon became overcrowded, so it later expanded. In 1909, along with the Waterford and Lincoln schools, Leesburg became a four-year state accredited high school, the first three in Loudoun County.

   The school building became even more crowded, having to house its ninth teacher in another building. A campaign was created to push for a new school. In 1923, the old school building was demolished to build a brand new, two-story building (not including the basement). Unfortunately, two years later, the school was destroyed by a fire on February 2, 1925. It was believed to have started from the furnace area. School continued in temporary locations until the present building opened January 25, 1926. It was built with only one story (not including the basement level) to make it "practically fireproof." As a testament to that, it has not burned down since.
 

Historic main entrance to the building

   Leesburg's high school was finally living a much more peaceful life. As with all of Loudoun's regional high schools, it served children of all grades. In 1941, it received its first expansion. The wing behind the Auditorium was added, changing the school's shape from a lower case "h" to a capital "H".

  Leesburg lost its high school status with the opening of Loudoun County High School in 1954. It then became a elementary school, serving grades Kindergarten through 7th grade. A 1962 expansion built a new kitchen, but otherwise, Leesburg had a relatively uneventful 17 years.
 

   In 1971, the building ceased being used as a school altogether. It became the School Board Annex Building. Starting in the 90's it received the nickname "North Street," after the road in which the building was located on. The original front doors (only accessible by stairs) were sealed shut, and became a decorative feature. The superintendent's office was located in the room where the 1962 kitchen was previously.

Plaque honoring the building's school history

   As the school system grew, North Street did not. The building became very cramped for its tenants. School Administration was also scattered among three other main facilities: Douglass Support Facility, Union Street Admin Facility, and the Round Hill Center.

   In 2005, the Admin Building on Education Court in Ashburn opened up. Administration vacated the building for their new, roomier premises. That same year, voters approved a bond to convert Leesburg into a Senior Center.

Far side of the building.
Auditorium is in the taller section on the right.

This brings us up to the present. The building's interior was gutted mostly throughout 2010, and now the Center is getting ready for to open up this fall. (I always get a chuckle, thinking the same people who graduated there as seniors are now coming back to use it as seniors again!)

Auditorium (July 30, 2010)

   I've watched what they have been doing for the past year, and they have been doing a great job, both overall and history-wise. While they're getting rid of the old stage for more room, they are incorporating the proscenium arch. They also got rid of the windows that were there and are now going with windows that look like the original windows!

Before (July 22, 2010)

After (June 17, 2011)

   They are doing a wonderful job. I could not be happier with what they are doing. They are rejuvenating the building while keeping its history. It is the renovation any old school should get. It really means something to history-lovers and the people who went there. My college (Christopher Newport University) has demolished so much of its 1960's buildings for new ones that most people consider the school to be a newly-formed one. I truly wonder how the college's alumni feels.

   When Leesburg Senior Center opens this fall, please swing by North Street and visit. It's going to be wonderful...

   For more information on the building's recent transformation, check out the Talk Loudoun: School Spirit article on the renovation.

Update: In 2012, I was able to look around the newly opened Senior Center of Leesburg -- check it out for the continuation of this story!


Sources:

LHS 1927 yearbook
LES 1965 yearbook
Talk Loudoun: School Spirit
CIPs
Blueprints
"New School Building Destroyed By Fire" The Blue Ridge Herald, February 5, 1925
"School Advisory Committee Meetings" Loudoun Times-Mirror, February 19, 1925
Town of Leesburg: Antebellum Leesburg
"100 Years of Loudoun" Washington Post, December 26, 1999