Harrison School is a historic public school building for African-American students in Roanoke,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. It is a rectangular, 13-bay brick building done in modified

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, Ge ...

architecture. The school was built in 1916, and two-story wings were added in 1922. It was the first school in the city to educate black students beyond the seventh-grade level, and its first principal was the noted educator Lucy Addison. After closing as a school in the 1960s, the building served as a

child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

center and later

low-income housing Subsidized housing is government sponsored economic assistance aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housi ...

as well as the home of the Harrison Museum of African American Culture. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1982.

History

At the turn of the 20th century, the education of African-Americans was a low priority in many Southern states. There had been a school for young Black children in Roanoke since the 1870 establishment of a statewide public school system under the Underwood Constitution, but travel to

Virginia State College Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of hig ...

in Petersburg was necessary for any Black student in the area desiring schooling beyond the seventh grade. Lucy Addison, a teacher in Roanoke's Gainsboro neighborhood since 1886, advocated for a new school aimed at older students. The city school board acquiesced in 1916, and the Harrison School opened the following year, with Addison as its first principal. The new building was constructed for just under $32,000 (). It was done in a modified Georgian style, which was a popular design for school buildings of the time. It is a thirteen-bay, three-story structure faced with brick. The need for additional space warranted the addition of a pair of three-bay wings of two stories in 1922. In its first year, the school had 14 students and only taught eighth grade. An additional semester of high school curriculum was added each year, however, and 1924 saw the graduation of the first class of students educated for a full four years at Harrison. The school earned its state

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

the following year. Also in 1925, Addison succeeded in petitioning for a free dental clinic to be added to the school. Addison retired from education in 1927. By that time, Harrison School's 1,300 students was the largest enrollment of any school in the city. In 1928, the city built a new high school for its Black population and named it after the former Harrison principal. A contemporary news report named it the first instance of a Roanoke public building bearing the name of one of its citizens. Following the construction of the new high school, Harrison School saw continued use as an

elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

and

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

. A 1941 report by Virginia's Department of Education determined that its facilities were severely lacking, due largely to a lack of funding for repairs and maintenance. The building was also without a gymnasium,

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

, or restroom facilities for male teachers. Harrison School was used as an elementary school through the 1960s, but closed in 1971 following the integration of schools in Roanoke City. The building functioned as a daycare center until 1979, then sat empty until 1982. That year, in addition to being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the

US Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...

(HUD) provided funding for a local

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

to repurpose the facility as low-income housing for senior citizens. The structure's renovation included space for the new Harrison Museum of African American Culture, though Internal Revenue Service rules regarding HUD loans initially restricted the percentage of floor space the cultural center could occupy. Jim Olin, Roanoke's congressional representative, fought for and succeeded in obtaining an exception for the museum, and by its first anniversary the Harrison Museum occupied the entirety of the building's bottom floor. In 2009, the Harrison Museum left its home in the former school building and reopened in a downtown Roanoke arts and culture center in 2013. The space it had occupied was turned into additional low-income apartments.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia African-American history of Virginia School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia School buildings completed in 1916 Schools in Roanoke, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Roanoke, Virginia 1916 establishments in Virginia