I recently swung by The Senior Center of Leesburg, the former Leesburg High School/Elementary School/North Street Administrative Office building. I had last visited when it had just opened up in its current iteration (2012), so it was nice to check it out again. Let's see how the building has been lived in and changed after 14 years, shall we?
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| Looking at the lobby from the front door |
Lots of new things in the lobby. Most noticeably is the rounded plexi-glass shield left over from COVID safety accommodations. A member of staff told me that it was supposed to come down last year, but due to the supports being screwed into the counters themselves, no work has proceeded until new counters come in. Another change is the floor. Building-wide, the carpet has come out and been replaced by wood laminate.
Something I didn't mention last time, during the renovation, workers had found a hidden display case behind a wall, full of old trophies. They planned to display the trophies once the building opened, but they weren't out yet when I visited in 2012. It was nice to finally see them. It's crazy, some of them even pre-date the current 1925 building! I wonder how they survived the former building's fire?
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| Another lobby addition is a 1971 news article on the school's closing. |
Throughout the halls are artwork and pottery displays. You can even buy some of the creations made! (They should offer their creations during Leesburg's First Friday and reach a larger audience...)
I'm pretty sure I didn't take any photos of the fitness rooms in 2012 because the rooms were in use at the time. Luckily, this time I was visiting during a brief lull in activity, so that wasn't a problem. Fun fact: The fitness rooms are where the auditorium's stage used to be.
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| The Group Exercise Room |
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| Fitness Room |
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| Craft Room |
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| The Lounge |
Then:
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| Ceramics Room, 2012 |
Now:
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| Ceramics Room, 2026 |
That's not the only disappointing de-emphasizing of the building's history. The proscenium arch of the school's original auditorium has been painted white, camouflaging it into the wall. It is probably easier to repaint the wall this way. It's nice the arch is still there, but I hope it isn't forgotten about and taken down at some point.
Then:
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| Proscenium Arch, 2012 |
Now:
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| Proscenium Arch, 2026 |
In the multipurpose space/former auditorium, lots of changes here. The wallpaper and curtains are gone. The floor has been changed out, and its replacement has the lines marked out of what I'm guessing is probably a pickleball court. Disregarding the pickleball court, the space unfortunately has had some aesthetic downgrades. Still a functional space.
*(My 2012 and 2026 pictures below were taken from opposite sides of the multipurpose room, unfortunately I don't have a good before/after photo of this space.)
Then:
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| Multipurpose Room, 2012 |
Now:
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| Multipurpose Room (from the opposite side of the room), 2026 |
There was one surprise: The former school projector room! In the back of the multipurpose room is an exit with an antechamber with storage closets. In one of the storage closets is a ladder leading up to the projector space. It hasn't been repurposed for anything for the senior center, so it's stayed pretty much the same as it has for decades. A mini time capsule of sorts.
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| Projector Booth |
This space gets a whole lot of light through its window. I'm very curious about the architectural story behind this. Was the window here before the space was allocated as a projector booth? Was it always a projector booth, and they gave it a window anyway? At some point, the window was covered, most likely to solve the light problem for projectionists. During the senior center conversion, the window was uncovered again. No projection booth, no problem!
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| Reference photo: Auditorium Exterior Door & Window, 2012 |
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| Projector openings, 2010 |
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| The covered projector openings, 2026 |
One final change. Last time, a lady told me "You don't look like you're fifty-five!" This time, no one told me that. No one told me I looked fifty-five either, but still. I'm noting my presence here is not as much a juxtaposition as it once was. Still got over two decades before I can enroll in membership, but my youth is clearly fleeting before my eyes!!
The Senior Center of Leesburg appears to be thriving. It has had upgrades and changes to keep up with the times and maintenance. Some of the history is de-emphasized, but it's all still there! All-in-all, a great building that has many more decades of use left!
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