Southern High School

35.940698, -78.865828

1818
Durham
NC
Year built
1956
Year(s) modified
1993
Architects/Designers
Architectural style
Construction type
Neighborhood
Building Type
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workingonsouthernhighschool_081356.jpg

"Working on Southern High School, 08.13.56"

Southern High moved to 800 Clayton Road in 1993; these buildings were purchased by Glaxo, gutted, and refurbished/rebuilt as part of GSK's campus.

1818Ellis_BE.jpg

Comments

Hi Gary - I know this property was bought from the Durham Public Schools around 1991 and a new Southern High School was built elsewhere.  Do you have current pictures of the old Southern?  I remember seeing that it was taken down to the steel frame by the new owner, and I wondered what it looked like now.

Thanks for clueing me in - I didn't even realize that it had moved, and I had put the new address on Clayton Road. After a little bit of digging (always surprising to me when things like this aren't already out there somewhere,) I figured out that it used to be located at 1818 Ellis Rd. The buidings were sold to Glaxo in 1993. It looks like they may have heavily renovated vs. demolition, just based on the building footprints over 1993->1998->now. I've added a Google Birds' Eye view of the Glaxo buildings.

In reply to by gary

Thank you for the prompt response. Perhaps -not positive- that back parking lot (north of the tennis courts) may have been the old football field.  I didn't go to school there, but that is a vague memory.   

Indeed, you are correct. The football field was where the leftmost parking lot is on the aerial; the somewhat tree-clear area north of the adjacent (north side) roadway was the baseball field.

Gary

Gary, do you need photos of the old school, I still have all my yearbooks and could scan and send them to you.  Glaxo has increased the size of the site, looking at the photo really shows how much they added.  Not sure of my memory, but I believe the baseball field was were the tennis courts now stand.  When I was there, we didn't have tennis courts.

Carol - I would love the post to have more photos of the old school. Please do either scan and send, or you can hit "New Draft" and add them to the post yourself. Instructions are here:

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