Park Avenue School

Park Avenue School  in 1920s

Park Avenue School in 1970s

Built in 1914 at a cost of around $30,000, the Park Avenue School was a public elementary school of Winter Park. Located on the current site of the SunTrust Plaza, its designer and contractor were unknown. In 1962, Rollins purchased the large, brick-structured building from the Orange County School District for $350,000. Initially used for classroom and offices, the Rollins College School of Continuing Education (later renamed Holt School) occupied the structure starting on October 1, 1972. When the Knowles Hall II was demolished, the social science departments were temporarily moved to the Park Avenue School. However through the 1970s and 1980s, the Park Avenue School suffered the strain of time. Locks would not work, and the building was infested by spiders and rats. With the completion of the Cornell Center for the Social Sciences, the Park Avenue School was finally vacated, and in 1989 the structure was tore down despite objections from the historical community of Winter Park.

Park Avenue School in 1980s

Park Avenue School in 1989