Virginia Landmarks Register Adds Rosenwald School

Richmond – The Virginia Landmarks Register has added the Cape Charles Rosenwald School to the historic register. The school was built in 1929 using money from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, which promoted Black educational opportunities while Virginia’s public schools were segregated.

As part of a plan to consolidate schools in the area, the county closed the institution in 1966 and sold the building two years later when it was converted into a seafood processing plant. In 2018, the Cape Charles Rosenwald School Restoration, Inc. purchased the property.

The Commonwealth’s Board of Historic Resources approved the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) listings during its quarterly public meeting on September 21 in Danville, Virginia. The VLR is the commonwealth’s official list of places of historic, architectural, archaeological, and cultural significance.

Across the bay, Norfolk’s Granby Street Suburban Institutional Corridor was also added.

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) called the corridor, which spans nearly 60 acres just outside of downtown Norfolk, “home to some of the city’s most impressive institutional architecture designed by locally prominent architects and firms.”

Following a national trend during the mid-20th century, the Institutional Corridor was developed to ensure residents could “live, learn, worship, and gather” all in one place. The space not only promoted education, religion, and culture but also served as a hub for the surrounding Greek, Jewish, and African-American communities.

The district, which houses one of the state’s oldest Masonic Lodge, features various high-style architecture, including Colonial, Classical Revival, Moderne, and New Formalism.

Among the district’s historic buildings are Granby High School, Talbot Park Baptist Church, and the Temple Israel Greek Orthodox Church and Hellenic Community Center.