AHS HISTORICAL MARKER: Standing at the proposed memorial site (corner of UTA Blvd. & Cooper) are John Hall, Vice-President  Finance and Campus Operations at UTA, Mac Martin, President of the AHS Alumni Association, and board member Paul Swartz, along with Nancy Bennett, President Arlington Preservation Foundation.

JULY - 2007: SITE FOR HISTORICAL MARKER DISCUSSED!

The Arlington High Alumni Association and the Arlington Preservation Foundation are working with The University of Texas at Arlington to commemorate the site of the first Arlington High School (1923 – 1956) on Cooper Street.

This fall, perhaps in time for Homecoming weekend, a memorial plaque and a Foundation insignia will be placed in a landscaped area on the corner of UTA Blvd. and Cooper. UTA plans to make this corner, on which the Homemaking Cottage once stood, a park area. It is already shaded with large trees and covered with grass.

While driving by the old AHS, if you notice the memorial has been erected, you can find visitor parking by turning right off Cooper on the north side of the school (now the School of Social Work). In the far northeast corner of the lot, nearest Abram and Lampe St., there is ample visitor parking. From there it’s a short walk to the memorial site.

A formal dedication will take place later in the fall.

FEBRUARY 2007:  Preservation Texas names Old Arlington High School to its Fourth Annual List of Texas' Most Endangered Historic Places

The 1922 Arlington High School site is a stable, currently in-use site that includes the 1922 Arlington High School academic building and the 1940 gymnasium/cafeteria. Located at 211 S. Cooper Street, it was the largest public education facility between Fort Worth and Dallas and it is one of the few remaining historically important buildings in Arlington. The academic building served as the only high school in Arlington until 1956 when a new building was constructed at another location and the original buildings became a junior high school. In 1968, the school district sold the campus to the University of Texas. It has been used for classrooms and offices ever since.

The high school was the center of community activity and a source of pride. It produced countless leaders who went on to successful careers and positions of leadership in the community. But the buildings are threatened; UTA has stated it plans to demolish the facility for redevelopment purposes, having demolished another historic building on the site.

The building could be adapted to any number of functions such as a community-friendly information center; a repository of information of the history of AHS and the University; a conference space; an office space; condominiums; lofts; senor housing; and or an art center or museum.