Cradock High School opened in 1920 in the Stateside neighborhood of Portsmouth, Virginia. It was established near the home of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
Cradock High School was named after Sir Christopher Cradock, a rear-admiral of the British Royal Navy during WWI. Sir Christopher Cradock was ordered to seek and destroy the fleet of German Admiral Maximilian von Spee. On November 1, 1914, Cradock found von Spee off the coast of Chile and engaged in the Battle of Coronel. All of Cradock’s men were killed as he went down with his ship.
By 1953, a new high school building was needed to accommodate growing maintenance needs. The final structure of Cradock High School was built in 1954. Cradock High School graduated over 8,000 students before it was closed in 1992. The reason why Cradock High School closed is because the city of Portsmouth decided to consolidate some of its high schools.
After 1992, the school sat abandoned for more than 20 years. A small part of the school property was used as a recreational center while the rest of the property sat abandoned. After more than two decades of decay, Cradock High was finally demolished in June 2014 for clearance for a housing development. A housing development is currently being built there.
Cradock High School was located at 4206 George Washington Highway, Portsmouth, Virginia, US 23702.
No comments:
Post a Comment