Moore Street School

Wilfred Emory Cutshaw
1887
1113 W Moore St

The Moore Street School opened in 1887, an early example of a post-Civil War school built for Richmond’s African American children. The school served the neighborhood of Carver, in one form or another, until February, 2000, when it became a surplus property. (The southern end of the schoolhouse is attached to the still-operating Carver Elementary.) For the past 25 years, the Moore Street School has been vacant, but a new community organization rooted in Carver aims to change that.

Carver was quite a different neighborhood when the school opened than it is today. The southern part of the neighborhood is increasingly influenced by Virginia Commonwealth University, an institution which didn’t exist at that time. (VCU traces its founding to 1838, when the Medical College of Virginia was founded in Court End.) The north side of the neighborhood has changed even more dramatically. The construction of the I-95 slashed the neighborhood in two and leveled hundreds of homes and businesses. The front steps of the school now face an electrical substation, and the expressway directly beyond. 

The Moore Street School served children not only from today’s Carver, but also from the area around Brook Road. Before the highway was built, Oak street connected there areas directly. Before the construction of I-95, a walk from the school’s front door to Brook Road would have taken 3 minutes. Today it takes 24.

Despite the neglect, the school is still a neighborhood landmark, and a group of Carver residents and their allies around Richmond and beyond have a plan to save it. The Moore Street School Foundation was established in 2021, with the mission of reviving the building as a multipurpose community space. In a recent interview, board-president Jerome Legions, explained that the goal is to create a platform for cultural and civic activities, and to expand the legacy of education at the school through a jazz program. (Legions is also a former president of the Carver Civic Association.)

If current plans come to fruition, the jazz program would bring together students, educators, and professional musicians to elevate Richmond’s jazz culture. This new “Jazz Center” would host a permanent jazz ensemble, similar to the classical ensemble based at the Richmond symphony. The renovated school house would include a performance space, as well as practice spaces for students and musical groups. “The goal is not to stay only local,” Legions explained, but to create chances for national and international musicians to meet and collaborate with people in the Richmond scene. 

Complementing the musical program, the school would also contain a reading room, local history gallery, Carver neighborhood archives, meeting rooms, and a gift shop and cafe. Some spaces would be available for local volunteer or cultural organizations to use temporarily or lease. “Finding space is a barrier for some groups,” said Legions.

The Moore Street School foundation is raising funds, first to stabilize the school and then to transform it. “Our goal is 6 to 7 million, all together,” Legions explained, noting that in addition to local sources they are pursuing grants from national organizations like the Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

Some parts of the school are in poor condition, though many of the original architectural details remain, including windows, exterior ornaments, and interior woodwork. The handsome, three story brick Italianate structure was designed by city engineer Wilfred Emory Cutshaw, known also for designing the Pump House in Byrd Park, Gallery 5, and the Jackson Ward armory that is now the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. In recognition of both its historical and architectural importance, the school is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Virginia Landmarks Register, and on Preservation Virginia’s 2023 list of Virginia’s Most Endangered Historic Places.

The charisma of the Moore Street School still attracts people to the Project, according to Legions. Many older people in the neighborhood still remember childhood days spent in the building. Stepping into its bright, lofty classrooms it’s easy to imagine them filled with the sounds of life again. 

DOK

To learn more, visit the Moore Street School Foundation on their website.

Photography courtesy of David Whitemyer and the Moore Street School Foundation.