Preservation Arlington celebrates the start of a return to the school year with a look at one of the most important buildings types in our community — the school house. Like other civic structures, school buildings are physical manifestations of a community’s strong commitment to government, community health and welfare, and education–as well as dedication to the future.

Over the years Arlington has had a wide range of school building types — in many styles and sizes. As our population has fluctuated our community has built schools, closed schools, and re-used schools in a continuing effort to meet the needs of the community. Our four-day series this week will focus on some of Arlington’s quality-designed original schools, successful school expansions that respect the original building, and schools that have been given new uses and remain important civic buildings. We’ll end the series with a piece on a historic school building that now faces its greatest threat.

As students return to school this fall, it is comforting to know that Arlington is home to several classic examples of school buildings. These civic buildings represent our community and its commitment to schools and education. The schools we have chosen span more than 85 years of quality construction and design and are the physical embodiment of Arlington’s long standing commitment to quality education. While most of the “classic” schools have had an addition or renovation, these highlighted today retain their original style and architectural integrity.

In 1915, Hoffman-Boston was built as the first junior high for African-Americans in Arlington County. It later served as the county’s first senior high school, then as an alternative education center (a portion of the basis for the HB-Woodlawn program), and now as an elementary school. In 2000 it became known as Hoffman-Boston Elementary School and in 2003 saw a major expansion and renewal of the school bringing it up to 21st century standards. Located at 1415 South Queen Street, the school is named for two local African-American educators. Edward Clarendon Hoffman, born in 1866 in Freedman’s Village, who went on to become principal of the Jefferson School, and Miss Ella Boston who was a teacher at the Rosslyn School until 1904, when she moved to Kemper School in Green Valley, serving first as its sole teacher and later as its principal.

Built in 1926, the former Stonewall Jackson School at 850 North George Mason Drive is now home to the Arlington Traditional School. While the school has been modified and expanded, the main entrance is appropriately a very traditional design for this important community building. Stonewall Jackson was one of the best-known Confederate commanders other than another Virginian, Robert E. Lee.

Arlington’s Barrett Elementary School at 4401 Henderson Road opened its doors in 1939 to meet the growing population in central Arlington. It is named for prominent Virginia physician and humanitarian, Kate Waller Barrett. Although a substantial addition and new entrance were added several years ago, the original entrance remains with its classical Georgian architecture.

Another growth period of the Arlington school population occurred in the 1950s, and numerous schools were being built to meet the booming population of Arlington. Williamsburg Middle School is a great example of the architecture of that period with its entrance-way canopy and stone materials. Williamsburg was named after the southeast Virginia city, which served as the capital of the Colony of Virginia from 1699 to 1780.

Built in 1975, the Arlington Career Center is co-located with the Arlington County Library at 816 South Walter Reed Drive. It is probably one of a handful of Brutalist-style buildings in Arlington and is evocative of a mid-1970s era of architecture and civic buildings in our country.

Do you have back-to-school memories of attending school in Arlington? Let us know in the comments!