Arlington High School

Built in 1908, Arlington High School was located at the corner of Arlington Avenue and 19th Street in Bessemer, Alabama. The school was the city of Bessemer’s first high school and was designed by William E. Benns. The three-story Classical Revival-style building had eight classrooms, each with 13-foot ceilings and plenty of windows. Each class could hold 45 students with desks arranged so that natural light would pass over the student’s left shoulder. The Bessemer Board of Education and superintendent’s offices were on the main floor near the front entrance. A chemistry laboratory and library were on the second floor along with more classrooms. In the basement were restrooms for both sexes, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, and a boiler room. The school had maple floors throughout the interior corridors. The highlight of Arlington School was the auditorium which could hold 600 students; its horseshoe-shaped balcony, raked wood floor, and proscenium stage were notable features.

The high school moved to a new building in 1923, leaving Arlington as an elementary school. Bessemer City Schools closed Arlington School in 1986. By 2003, the building was listed on the Alabama Historical Commission’s list of Places in Peril. Several attempts were made to repurpose the building in the following years, but nothing ever materialized. In 2008, the Bessemer School Board declared Arlington School a surplus building, opening the chance for it to be sold. After a tour of the building in August 2008, the City of Bessemer deemed the building unsafe. They told the Bessemer School Board it must be brought up to code before being repurposed or sold. In 2012, the Bessemer School Board began seeking bids to demolish Arlington School. The property was purchased by demolition contractor Ezra Hopson in 2013, who was the only person to place a bid. He salvaged parts of the building before beginning demolition in 2014.

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