{"nrhp_refnum":"03000743","name":"East Suffolk Complex","other_names":["East Suffolk Elementary School","East Suffolk High School","East Suffolk Middle School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"231 S. 7th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Suffolk (Independent City)","county":"Suffolk","state":"VA","lat":36.72520168400007,"lon":-76.56382479499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-08-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Black"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of three school buildings (elementary school, high school, gymnasium) and two sites of demolished support buildings at 231 South 7th Street in Suffolk, Virginia, built between 1926 and 1951 for African-American students.","why_significant":"The complex served the African-American community of East Suffolk for decades. The elementary school was built with Rosenwald Fund help, and the high school was funded through a New Deal public works program. It is significant for its role in education and Black ethnic heritage.","narrative":"East Suffolk School Complex in Suffolk, Virginia, is a group of three brick and concrete school buildings built between 1926 and 1951 for the African-American children of the East Suffolk community. The one-story Colonial Revival elementary school opened in 1927 with money from the local community, public funds and the Rosenwald Fund. A matching high school followed in 1938-1939, funded through a federal New Deal program and designed by the state Division of School Buildings. It opened with 227 students. A cafeteria wing was added in 1952, and a Moderne gymnasium was built in 1951. An agricultural building from 1944 and a home economics building from 1956 were later demolished, leaving two foundations. The schools served the community until newer facilities opened in the 1960s, and the complex closed in 1979. Since 1987 the former elementary school has served as a community center with a branch library, computer lab and meeting space.","period_of_significance":"1926-1952","architect_builder":"State Department of Education (Virginia)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival; Moderne","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Closed as a school in 1979 and vacant until converted to a community center in 1987; the elementary school now houses a branch library, computer lab and meeting space.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.167658-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/85/6838/41683885/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/03000743.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000743/fa3c3cda85-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000743/fa3c3cda85-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Antony-22","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_Suffolk_Complex_2016a.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Antony-22</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_Suffolk_Complex_2016a.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683885","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Suffolk_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16890825"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/suffolk/east-suffolk-complex-03000743/"}