Nomination Form
James Blair Junior High School was built in 1922 at the intersection of Colley and Spotswood in the heart of the Ghent neighborhood. It was one of the first two junior high schools built in the city of Norfolk. The junior high school concept had only been adopted by the State Board of Education beginning in the 1917-1918 school year. It was thought that median-aged children would perform better academically when separated from both younger and older students. The firm of Calrow Wrenn and Tazwell designed the building in the Beaux Arts style. The brick structure boasts handsome limestone detailing. The façade features a monumental entrance above a raised basement flanked by end pavilions. The interior of the James Blair Junior High School is oriented along an east/west axis with an impressive auditorium opposite the main entrance.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Nomination Form
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia
