Old Larchmont School

The Old Larchmont Elementary School building was the first facility at the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary. Located at the northwest corner of Hampton Boulevard and Bolling Avenue, the building served as the center of campus activity as all the administrative offices and classes were housed here from 1930-1936.

 History

Originally built in 1912, the facility was the location of the first Larchmont Elementary School in Norfolk. Due to the population growth of suburban Norfolk after World War I, an addition was constructed between 1921 and 1922. When a new elementary school was constructed in the late 1920s, the Old Larchmont School building became available to purchase, and in March 1930, William & Mary acquired the building from the city of Norfolk and purchased 12 acres of land adjacent to the school. Renovations to the building and the land acquisition cost approximately $51,415. The first class of students were registered, and on September 12, 1930, 208 students were welcomed to the Norfolk Division.

The facility was renamed the Administration Building and contained administrative offices, classrooms, science laboratories, and a library. During its first year open, students at the division ate lunch across the street at the new Larchmont Elementary School. A new Administration Building (now Alfred B. Rollins, Jr. Hall) opened in 1936 but classes were still taught in the Old Larchmont School. The building was referred to as the “Science Hall” in the 1940s and 1950s. A new science building was constructed in 1954 and the Old Larchmont School became known as the Old Science Building. From the 1960s and 1970s, classes were still taught in the Old Larchmont School but the building was starting to deteriorate, and in 1975, the building was razed. Ten thousand bricks were saved from the rubble and were given as bookends to retiring faculty for years afterwards. Today, the site of the school is a neighborhood park known as the Brick Field.

Resources

1. Old Dominion University Photographic and Multimedia Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Perry Library, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529.
2. Building the University, Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Exhibit, 2005.
3. Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary and Old Dominion College Records,  Special Collections and University Archives, Perry Library, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529.

References

1. Bookman, Steven and Jessica Ritchie. Old Dominion University: A Campus History Series.  Arcadia Publishing. Charleston, South Carolina, 2017.