Revisiting Leesburg High School / Senior Center (2026)

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?

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 Building-wide, the carpet has come out and been replaced by wood laminate.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? 

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.

The Group Exercise Room

Fitness Room

Craft Room

The Lounge

In the Ceramics Room, the preserved school chalkboard is buried behind supplies, shelves, and a newly-installed television. If you didn't know it was there, you might miss it.

Then:

Ceramics Room, 2012

Now:

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:

Proscenium Arch, 2012

Now:

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:

Multipurpose Room, 2012

Now:

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.

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!

Reference photo: Auditorium Exterior Door & Window, 2012

Projector openings, 2010

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!

SOURCES:

Talk Loudoun: School Spirit

Other North Street Articles:

Leesburg High School / North Street

North Street Update (2011)

North Street 2012 Update

North Street 2012 Update

Front entrance for The Senior Center of Leesburg

Previous post: Leesburg High School / North Street

   102 North Street is now "The Senior Center of Leesburg." Membership is open to 55 and up, but I checked it out for myself (after asking permission, of course). After gutting the whole building, they built what feels like a new building inside of an old one.

   The building also has a wing devoted to Loudoun County Library Administration, which they do not allow public entry into.

   To my delight, some LHS/LES alumni now go here. I briefly met a funny gentleman there who went to LHS in the 50's when it still taught all grades. He said one time he snuck out a window when the principal held him after school.

   A second gentleman I met gave me a tour around. He attended the elementary school in the late 50's. I asked him if he remembered anything about the Union Street School down the street. He didn't know anything. It's interesting how you can see each school from one another, yet there was little to no interaction between the children. That was how segregated it was.

   Senior citizens can be a delight to be around. One lady said to me, "You don't look like you're fifty-five!" I hope not.

   Now, for a look around:

Reception! It also doubles as the Center's Library

Rec Room

Hallway

Nice outdoor seating area

This can be divided into two rooms

Lounge

Hallway looking towards the Reception area

   (Rooms not pictured: Board Room, 2 fitness rooms (one with machines, the other empty for fitness classes), two art rooms, various offices, and a classroom.)

The Ballroom (which can be rented out for events)

   Along with all the new features, there are many nods to the building's history throughout. They saved the Proscenium Arch of the old stage in a hallway behind the ballroom.

   In the ceramics art room, there is a whole original chalkboard on display. It's now behind glass.

   Something I just noticed was they uncovered a window above the auditorium-now-ballroom doors.

July 2011

January 2012

   Also remaining is the historic entrance to the school. The concrete steps have been all patched up. The doors have long been out of operation and now have walls built around them on the inside. The doors' windows are the only windows that did not get replaced. 

Only the top right window piece was replaced to reflect its
historical look again.

   Before:

March 2009

   And let's not forget all the windows that now resemble the original windows!

   A lot of money and thought was poured into this facility, and it looks wonderful. I applaud everyone who helped North Street shine again.

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