Old Lakeland High School
Encyclopedia
The Old Lakeland High School, also known as the Polk Opportunity Center, is an historic 3-story redbrick school
building located at 400 North Florida Avenue
in Lakeland
, Florida
, USA. Built in 1926, it was designed by noted architect Edward Columbus Hosford
in the late Gothic Revival
architectural style
.
On September 30, 1993, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
. Over the years the building has housed several different schools including the Polk Opportunity Center and Lakeland Middle Academy. Lakeland Middle Academy was renamed Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in 1999, to honor the passing of former Florida governor Lawton Chiles
-- himself an alumnus of Lakeland High School.
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
building located at 400 North Florida Avenue
State Road 37 (Florida)
State Road 37 is a Florida state highway which runs from SR 62 in Keentown north to Lakeland. The road primarily runs through Polk County, with small sections in Hillsborough and Manatee counties...
in Lakeland
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, USA. Built in 1926, it was designed by noted architect Edward Columbus Hosford
Edward Columbus Hosford
Edward Columbus Hosford, also known as Edward C. Hosford and E. C. Hosford, was a Georgia-born American architect noted for the courthouses and other buildings that he designed in Florida, Georgia and Texas....
in the late Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
.
On September 30, 1993, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Over the years the building has housed several different schools including the Polk Opportunity Center and Lakeland Middle Academy. Lakeland Middle Academy was renamed Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in 1999, to honor the passing of former Florida governor Lawton Chiles
Lawton Chiles
Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the US state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the 41st Governor of...
-- himself an alumnus of Lakeland High School.