A Year Ago Today... Douglass Demo

   Today marks the anniversary of the start of demolition on Douglass Support Facility, the former 1958 elementary school. It took less than three weeks demolishing the walls, sorting metals, and ripping out the foundations of the old building. Thanks to LCPS's commitment to the environment, about 90% of the school was able to be recycled.

Now, a year later, the new Frederick Douglass Elementary is on its way toward its August opening date. It's amazing how drastically this property has changed so quickly. It used to be full of thick vegetation, almost hiding the small school building from the road. Now, it's all been cleared away, and the new building is very visible. Most of the the old school's footprint is now under the new school. A year ago, a little creek ran through the property. Now, the creek funnels through an underground tunnel until it reaches the end of the property. Hills have been bulldozed and stone walls have been built for extra space on the property. Space is tight, so every square foot is being used to its highest potential.


Last night, I made a quick stop outside the school to get some photos. It's almost ready!

A peek inside the front doors

Looking from the entrance. Past the parking lot is the sports field

I hope this new school will be worthy of its predecessor's name. It's been an exciting project to watch.

Frederick Douglass Elementary School Update

As promised, I came home for Thanksgiving and did a walk-around of the Douglass ES property. Here's what it looks like now:

WOAH! There's a whole new building!

Half picture of school, half ad for Porta Potties!

This is where the sports field will go

The view from Plaza Street

Above, they are moving the stream underground. This was the stream from this summer:

Now back to the present:

I even found a little bit of the old Douglass!

LCPS Construction Dept. has a powerpoint online to view the monthly progress of all of their current build projects. Here is the one for FDES.


Other Douglass ES articles from this site:
Frederick Douglass Elementary School
Douglass Demo Mid-July Update

Union Street School

What do you call a school with at least six different names?

Let's count the ways:
Loudoun Training School
Leesburg Training School
Loudoun County High School
Douglass Elementary School
Loudoun County Training School
Leesburg Industrial School

   I myself have given it a few more nicknames, calling it The white Black School on Union Street, or just plain Union Street.
   It's a headache, so say the least. (For this blog's purposes, I'm going to call it Union Street)

   Welcome to Union Street. In 1962, a brick admin building was built on the property, but before that, it was the site of Leesburg's black school. Let's first walk around the site.

The one story wing was built at a later date, I don't know when.

Only the windows on the front aren't boarded up.

The backyard, sporting great views of the cemetery

   Union Street was built approximately 1884. A Training School (as one of its names) was a derogatory term applied to black schools, saying it wasn't really a school but a training school, not in the same league as a white school. It was Loudoun's only black school that taught secondary education when it began offering the level in the 1910's (which is probably around the time it received the name Loudoun County High School. How does it compare with the originally white-only Loudoun County High School of 1954?)

   The building had no indoor bathrooms. There was an outhouse (now demolished). There was no cafeteria, no auditorium, and no library. It housed five classrooms. Its school equipment, especially for science, was lacking. The school was also a death trap.

"...the window opening on the fire escape does not even have sash cords, and the oil soaked floor and open oil drum under the steps leading to the second floor constitute a veritable death trap in case of fire."
                                      - Charles H. Houston letter to Superintendent Emerick, 3/16/1940

   The parents pushed and pushed for a new school. When Douglass HS opened in 1941, the high school students moved out...but the elementary school students stayed. Union Street was renamed Douglass ES. The conditions did not improve. In 1958, when the new Douglass ES was built, this facility finally closed as a school.

   For a few years, it was used by the National Guard, during which time toilets were installed in the basement. I don't know when they moved out or much about what Union Street was used for afterwards. Currently, the building is mostly empty, being used for a little bit of storage.

   One of my goals this summer working here was to get into this building. And it happened! Would you like to take a look inside?

Look! Electricity! It has life!

The Basement bathroom

Storage of old things

It was surprisingly clean in this room

Old Lights

   On the second floor:

A close-up on the door: "A little shove will do it"

   And, the lovely staircase:

   I like it. It's sad to see it like this. I wish a use could be found for this. It's sort of away from the epicenter of downtown Leesburg, so it's not in the best spot in the world (plus, it's next to the cemetery, that's always a bonus, right?). It would need a big renovation if it was ever to be used publicly again. I know what I'd do with it. Why not turn it into a LCPS history museum and offices? Blue sky idea, but it's historic enough and it doesn't have to be big.

   In 2003 during a school board meeting, it was recommended to give future consideration to Union Street in a "lease agreement to the County of Loudoun or Town of Leesburg for governmental/historic use." I don't know what was said or what actions were taken; or it is possible nothing happened, that it was forgotten about. The building sits.

   Geraline Johnson (a Union Street teacher who is still alive) said in a recent interview about Douglass ES (1958) that she would like if the building was used like the Second Street one-room schoolhouse in Waterford, a place where children could learn how school used to be and about segregation. Unlike one room schoolhouses, Union Street has five rooms, which could give it multiple uses.

   So if you have a couple of million of dollars to spare...
What would you do with Union Street?


Sources:
Geraline J Johnson interview (2011) for Frederick Douglass ES
Douglass HS 50th Anniversary booklet (1991)
"Piedmont Stories: Leesburg Teacher's Career Spanned Two Eras" from the Washington Post, 9/20/2009
"High Schools Once Flourished Across Area"  - Eugene Scheel, Washington Post, 9/21/2003
Charles H. Houston letter to Superintendent Emerick, 3/16/1940

A special thank you to Sara Howard O'Brien!!

Douglass Demo Update

There it is. Or, I should say, there it isn't. Douglass Elementary is no more. The foundations and the garage are still in the back, but it is officially gone. Now the race can start for the new Douglass, opening in one year. Site work has already started in the property surrounding the old school. Get ready for an exciting year!

Frederick Douglass Elementary School

   In Loudoun County, it's more likely to see a school go up than go down. For the last few weeks, construction crews have been demolishing the Douglass Support Facility, formally known as Douglass Elementary School. It was a small school. Basically, the layout was one long bending hallway with a Multi-purpose room jutting out.

   Douglass Elementary opened in 1958 as a segregated black school, four years after Brown vs. Board of Education. The previous Leesburg black elementary school was built in the 1880's and wasn't in the best condition nor up to then-contemporary standards (It's still on Union Street, but I'll get back to that in another post soon). Douglass desegregated the 1968-1969 school year, along with the rest of the county schools, and operated until 1982. Since then, it's been a support facility used by LCPS.

   Loudoun County's school population continues to grow, averaging about 2,800 more students each year. One of the growing areas, Leesburg, needed a new elementary school. With most support offices now located in other buildings, Douglass's prime location made it a viable option to build a new school on the property. Another factor is the property is already owned by LCPS, so they could save money not buying land parcels.

  As LCPS tradition, the new school will be named after its predecessor as Frederick Douglass Elementary School. It will be the second 2-story prototype elementary school in the county. It opens Fall 2012. Get ready for a new school in one year!


   The previous picture was taken on June 30th, on Day 2 of demolition. Below, the next three were taken on July 6, Day 5 (They don't work weekends/holidays). It would usually take a shorter time to demo a building of that size, but they're sorting out the different materials in order to make the demolition process as green as possible.

Here's two from a visit today, almost gone

And here's some pictures I took last summer of the building.

   On February 8th, the Loudoun County Government website sent out on LCPS's behalf a news release "calling upon Loudoun’s citizens for any historical documents, pictures, or memorabilia that could be used to preserve the legacy of the Frederick Douglass Elementary School. "  Now, the deadline has passed, but the school system is still accepting items!! Please send stuff in if you have anything (I have).

Sources:

Desegregation in Loudoun County Public Schools, 1954-1970

LCPS CIPs

New Elementary School is Set to Be Built on Historic Site

(Here is an extra. I'm not going to post any interior demo shots, but that person has posted one. If you're curious, enjoy!)