"Leon High School has always been a part of Tallahassee history, and is one of the oldest high schools in the country. It was founded 14 years before Florida entered into statehood. It was originally founded as Leon Academies in 1831 in Tallahassee, Florida, Leon County and helped shape education in the Capital City. Later in 1903 it would become the Leon County Graded and High School, which was originally set as the first public high school for whites on the corner of Duval, Tennessee and Bronough Streets.
In 1911, a need for more room for the growing student population led to the construction of a second Leon High School where the LeRoy Collins Public Library now stands.
The current building at 550 East Tennessee Street was built in controversy. Built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) for $500,000, citizens thought the high school was too expensive, too far out of town and way too big with the three stories. The builder was Thomas Monk, who built dozens of high schools and commercial buildings around Florida, including the Monk Building in downtown Bradenton, renovated in 2000. In Tallahassee, Monk also built the Mayo Building in the Capital area, and a house in Los Robles for his daughter and son-in-law."
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"LEON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL 550 E. Tennessee St. 1936. Italian Renaissance. M. Leo Elliott, architect. E-shaped building. Masonry accented by terra-cotta friezes. Additions are music and science building (1965), gymnasium (1965), and graphic arts building (1983). The school has played a major role in the education of a number of the state's political leaders. Public. N.R. 1993."
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An historical marker at this old school reads: "The first Leon Academy opened in 1827, three years after Tallahassee's founding, and operated until the mid-1840s. In 1869, the Leon County Board of Public Instruction established separate schools for whites and blacks. In 1871, the county opened the Leon Academy as a public school for whites and, in 1885, constructed a two-story brick building on Tennessee Street between Duval and Bronough streets. The Board of Public Instruction passed a resolution in 1903 establishing a 12-grade high school known as Leon Graded and High School. A new school was dedicated on Park Avenue in 1911. On March 27, 1927, the Board of Public Instruction purchased 31.7 acres of McDougal Pasture for $22,000. Efforts by Mode L. Stone, Tallahassee's supervising principal of public schools, and a 1935 bond referendum and a loan from the Emergency Administration of Public Works led to the construction of the present school in 1936. Architect M. Leo Elliott designed the Mediterranean Revival/Italian Renaissance style building with its distinctive barrel tile roof with wide eaves and decorative rafter tails. The school had 50 classrooms, a cafeteria, kitchen, library and an auditorium. The new Leon High School was dedicated on May 28, 1937."