Page County Office Building (Luray Graded and High School)

The principal section of this brick building was one of Virginia's oldest public school buildings located in a town. The importance of education to the town's late-nineteenth-century leaders is evidenced by the building's hilltop siting, as well as by the high quality of its construction. Built in at least three stages, the initial two-story section of 1881 is seven bays wide with a gable roof. A projecting central, gabled entrance pavilion has a double-leaf door set within a segmental-arched opening with a multi-light transom. The eaves and cornice returns are ornamented with a dentil frieze, paired console brackets, and molding panels. Centered on the roof ridge is a square bell tower. The second building phase doubled the building's square footage with a rear addition the same shape as the original, but with less ornate detailing. In 1910, a two-story classroom wing added to the north side of the school was originally detailed similarly to the main section's facade, but was damaged by fire in 1952 and remodeled after that to its present appearance. In 1916, the elementary students were moved to a new school. The building served high school students until 1931, when they were relocated, and the school was converted into county offices. The building was demolished in 2014 and replaced by the new County Government Center (103 S. Court Street; Baughan & Baukhages).