Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium
About this property
Richard J. Reynolds High School, now the Richard J. Reynolds Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts (often simply R. J. Reynolds High School or Reynolds), is a public high school in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Named for R. J. Reynolds, the founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the school opened in 1923. The school colors are Old Gold and Black, and the school's mascot is a demon. Katharine Smith Reynolds-Johnston (1880–1924), the widow of R. J. Reynolds (1850–1918), donated funds and land for the creation of the school in memory of her first husband. The site was known as Silver Hill. Just weeks before Reynolds-Johnston's death, a souvenir program for the dedication of the Memorial Auditorium says: "In 1919, the City of Winston-Salem, in the course of its ex-tended school building program, planned a model high school, and wished to honor the memory of Richard J. Reynolds, by naming it 'The Richard J. Reynolds High School.' It seemed to his wife, now Mrs. J. Edward Johnston, that a memorial of this kind was very fitting, as Mr. Reynolds had had such a large part and was so interested in the development of this city. Mrs. Johnston had wanted to erect some really worth while memorial personally, and when notified of the action of the city authorities, it seemed that this plant, which would be so closely identified with the life of the people, young and old, presented the opportunity for which she was looking. She therefore notified the city that she would be glad to give a suitable site upon which to erect the high school, the selection to be left to the City, and to present as a personal memorial, a beautiful auditorium in connection with the high school plant." The School and Auditorium sit on a piece of land known as "Society Hill". The complex consists of five buildings, three of which are contributing buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. They are the High School Building (1922–1923), the Power House (1923), and the Auditorium (1923–1924). They were designed in the late 1910s by architect Charles Barton Keen of Philadelphia and built as part of a single project. Original plans for the School included two grand school buildings sitting on either side of an Auditorium. Construction on the School began in 1919, under the direction of Reynolda House architect Charles Barton Keen. The first classroom building was finished in 1923, but construction on the second building was delayed and eventually abandoned after the Stock Market Crash of 1929. In the early 1990s, the high school building was thoroughly renovated and restored to its original appearance with some modern updating (e.g., a computer lab to replace the former language lab, and central air-conditioning).
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium
This page lists Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium listed on the National Register?
Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 11, 1991.
What type of historic resource is Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium?
Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium?
The period of significance for Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Forsyth County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Forsyth County.
Explore ForsythCounty ›More historic places in North Carolina
Browse all historic places in North Carolina.
View North Carolinahistoric sites ›North Carolina history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
North Carolinahistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Reynolds, Richard J., High School and Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.