Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/17/2021
NRHP Listing Date 08/09/2021
NRHP Reference Number SG100006822
Pulaski County constructed the two-story brick Claremont Elementary School in 1952, with additions in 1953, to alleviate overcrowding in its elementary schools in conjunction with the county Board of Education’s 1950s campus improvement campaign. Exemplifying the Virginia Department of Education’s initiative to support mid-20th century progressive trends and supply students with spacious, well-ventilated, and amply lit instructional areas, the school is one of the county’s most intact 1950s educational buildings. Designed by the Roanoke-based firm Smithey and Boynton, the building’s Modernist characteristics include a flat-roofed, angular form, horizontal massing, and tall, steel-frame, multi-pane windows. Resilient interior finishes such as concrete-block and plaster walls, beige-glazed ceramic tile wainscot, plaster ceilings, and terrazzo and ceramic tile floors remain intact. The classrooms, special activities room, and library accommodated changing educational curricula and increased enrollment. The 8.29-acre campus served Pulaski’s elementary-grade students and residents as a community center until the spring of 2004. Currently the campus retains the look and feel of its original setting, although renovations undertaken around 2007 temporarily diminished the building’s character.
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
Updated: August 16, 2021
