My Summer with Loudoun Schools: 06/01/2019

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Arcola School - 2019 Update

The 1939 Arcola School - 2019.

Along with visiting the Sterling Annex School recently, I checked up on the 1939 Arcola School. There hasn't been any news articles about since the last time I checked on it. Everything seems to remain in fairly good condition.

The grass is still mown regularly. Most of the eaves look to be in very good condition. There are some sections that have wood rot (caused from a now-removed gutter downspout) and flaking paint. Just a couple of signs of decay. The roof looks fine. All the windows are covered and the school is locked up tight from intruders or Mother Nature.

Front of Arcola School

Looking to the right of the entrance.

There is only one area that visually reflects its abandonment -- the northern side. A fenced-off area is full of overgrown plants. Ivy climbs along the building's eave. Other than the fence being there, I don't understand why this area has been allowed to grow like this. [This area was also present when I visited in 2017].

Arcola School along its northern side.

Behind the school, the grounds' conditions range from excellent to needs some work.

Grass is starting to grow in the cracks in the pavement at the tennis court. Still usable though.

Arcola Tennis Court

The basketball court has a pile of mulch sitting on one half of the asphalt. It would be fun to shoot baskets from the top of it.

Arcola Basketball Court

The playground is starting to get grassy. Still could play on it.

Arcola Playground

The baseball field - excellent condition. It looks regularly taken care of and used. Batter up!

Arcola Baseball Field

There was also a wooden pavilion and soccer field. The pavilion looked surrounded by high grass-- might rethink planning a picnic there. Soccer field looked alright, nothing too memorable to photograph though.

Read other Arcola School Posts:
The Three Schools of Arcola (2011)
Arcola School - 2017 Update

Arcola School - 2022 Update

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Sterling Community Center Annex - 2019 Update

Sterling Annex - 2019

[Update August 2023: This school has now been demolished. Check out Sterling Annex DEMO DAY 1]

Back in Sterling for a fun-filled trip to the slowly decaying Sterling Community Center Annex! Not much has changed this year. The boards covering the windows have aged and faded. The grass still has evidence of being mown periodically.

Sterling Annex Front Door

The front column that fell off last year is gone. Hopefully, it's inside the building, rather than stolen. Both boards covering the front doors are new, but one is painted white for some reason.

Flooded stairs to the basement

The stairs to the basement continue to be flooded.

One side of the backside

The other side of the backside

My favorite door

My favorite door still looks the same.

Opening to the roof above a side door. Look at that wood!

Over at the identical door on the other side, there is an opening to the roof.

Baseball field shot

Time out, I haven't written about the baseball field ever! It has been overtaken by grass. There are no bases to be found anywhere. Beyond center field, the far corner was converted to a gravel parking lot area sometime between 2016-17.

All in all, it's a very similar experience with last year's report. Belfort opened their new showroom last November, with no announcements on future use of the Sterling property.

I did discover a group called Save Old Sterling that is involved in the preservation of the original Sterling area. While its focus might be on older structures, if you are interested in preserving the Sterling area in general, this would be a great place to start.

That's all I got this year folks.