Welcome to A.L Brown High School
"Home of The Wonders"
415 East 1st Street Kannapolis, NC
(704) 932-6125
"Where the Street of Dreams Begins"
(Click Button to Go to A.L. Brown High School Home Page)
A.L Brown High School's first cornerstone was laid on April 30, 1950 by the man whom the school carries his name. Named after Cannon Mills Company senior executive Alfred Luther Brown the school officially opened it's doors for service in 1952. Brown tragically died on December 19, 1955 after accidentally driving his car into the lake that stood for many years in front of the Cannon Mills Company Central Office Building on North Main Street.
During the expansion of the Cannon Mills Corporation during the 1920s, James William Cannon donated a piece of land just east of the town for a school. Centerview School was constructed in 1924, about the same time the first Concord High School opened. Later in the early 1930s Centerview School was renamed J.W. Cannon High School, after the town's founder. A few years later Cannon High School was destroyed by a fire, then later rebuilt. In 1951 A.L. Brown High School was constructed southeast of J.W. Cannon and opened in the following year. Cannon High School then became J.W. Cannon Junior High School. In 1974, A.L. Brown was almost destroyed by a fire that started in the attic; fearing auditorium damage, graduation was moved to the primary gymnasium. Then on January 10, 1982, James William Cannon Junior High School was completely destroyed by a fire.
During the expansion of the Cannon Mills Corporation during the 1920s, James William Cannon donated a piece of land just east of the town for a school. Centerview School was constructed in 1924, about the same time the first Concord High School opened. Later in the early 1930s Centerview School was renamed J.W. Cannon High School, after the town's founder. A few years later Cannon High School was destroyed by a fire, then later rebuilt. In 1951 A.L. Brown High School was constructed southeast of J.W. Cannon and opened in the following year. Cannon High School then became J.W. Cannon Junior High School. In 1974, A.L. Brown was almost destroyed by a fire that started in the attic; fearing auditorium damage, graduation was moved to the primary gymnasium. Then on January 10, 1982, James William Cannon Junior High School was completely destroyed by a fire.
"A Tribute to the Heritage of A.L. Brown High"
"From the Pages of The Cannon Report"
Alfred Luther Brown
Alfred Luther Brown: Vice President, and General Manager of Cannon Mills Incorporated died on December 19, 1955 after he accidentally drove his vehicle into the Kannapolis Town Lake near the central office building at Cannon Mills Inc Plant #1 on North Main Street in Kannapolis.
The tragic incident that took his life came just three and a half years after the opening of the school that bears his name. A.L. Brown HIgh School opened it's doors in May of 1952, and was named after the man who was described as a pillar of the community, and one of the innovators of the Textile industry here in Kannapolis. |
"The Fire of 1974"
"Slideshow of 1974 Fire"
(Original Daily Independent Staff Photographer's photos)
Many additions have been built on to A.L. Brown since 1952, and there is a separate vocational building as well as a free-standing gymnasium. During the 2006/07 school year, The school introduced it's state of the art Strength and Conditioning Complex just west of the Bullock gymnasium. These individual free-standing buildings give A. L. Brown High School its unique character. Instead of a traditional single building like most high schools, Brown has a small, college-like atmosphere with numerous buildings around a central courtyard. All of the buildings on the campus are built in the Colonial Williamsburg style of architecture. All of the buildings are brick with white trim, modeled after most of Kannapolis.
A.L. Brown High School is quite possibly the most central iconic location within the city of Kannapolis second only to the new NCRC. A.L. Brown boasts a rich history of academics and athletics, most notably football. The school has taken a quantum leap into the new millenium and is most assuredly considered one of the frontrunners in high school education in the state of North Carolina bar none.
A.L. Brown High School is quite possibly the most central iconic location within the city of Kannapolis second only to the new NCRC. A.L. Brown boasts a rich history of academics and athletics, most notably football. The school has taken a quantum leap into the new millenium and is most assuredly considered one of the frontrunners in high school education in the state of North Carolina bar none.
A Virtual Tour of A.L. Brown High School
"Our Alma Mater"
"The A.L. Brown High School Central Education Building"
"The A.L. Brown High School (STEM) Academy"
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
The A.L. Brown High School Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Academy (STEM) began construction in 2009, and opened for service in August of 2011. The 8.1 million, 50,000 square foot facility was built just west of the main building. The facility was designed to resemble the architecture of the Central Core Laboratory at the nearby North Carolina Research Campus. The top two floors offer modern science labs, while the second floor houses communication classes. The basement has a health center, and an international welcome center.
"The A.L. Brown High School Cyber Campus"
The Cyber Campus located on the east end of the Central Education Building, and was created in 1997. The Building is fully equipped to handle the full spectrum of computer technology, and is capable to offer a wide range of online computer studies.
"The Ruth Coltrane Cannon Music Building"
The Ruth Coltrane Cannon Music Building was constructed in 1967 and is located northeast of the Central Education Building. The building is the epicenter of all musical studies at A.L. Brown High School. Some of Brown's finest entities from the marching band to chorus are based out of this structure. The building was named after the wife of the late Charles A Cannon former Chairman of the Cannon Mills Corporation.
"The W.J. Bullock Physical Education Building"
The W.J. Bullock Physical Education Building was constructed in 1958, and sits just north of the Central Education Building.The building was named in honor the superintendent of Kannapolis City Schools Mr. William J Bullock. The building houses the offices of the Athletic Director, and head football coach. The Bullock gymnasium currentley serves all the athletic programs offered at A.L. Brown High School. Below the gym are bulk storage facilities for all athletic equipment as well as locker room facilites and showers.
"The Kannapolis Performing Arts Center"
The Kannapolis Performing Arts Center is located in the Central Education Building, and extends south off the two main floors of the Central Building. The center was renamed the Kannapolis Performing Arts Center in 2006 after it was completely renovated. The center hosts a variety of events not just school related, but community sponsored as well. The center has a maximum occupancy of and is the largest venue of it's kind in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties.
"The Samuel B. Stroup Vocational Building"
The Samuel B Stroup Vocational Building is located northeast of the Central Education Building, and was one time home to all vocational studies within the school ie: Drafting, Automotives, Textiles etc. The building was constructed in 1967, and was to be the teaching hub for all vocational arts. The building is currentley going through major renovations, and modification, and will reopen at it's completion in 2012.
"The Kannapolis City Schools Administrative Building"
The Kannapolis City Schools Administration Building was constructed in 1967, and sits east of the Central Education Building. The building was completely renovated with the addition of a new wing in 2006, and is the headquarters for all educational operations within the city limits of Kannapolis. The building was expanded in 2004, and is the heart of Kannapolis City Schools.
"A.L. Brown High School"
A Comprehensive Timeline
1924- Central High School opens
1930- Renamed J.W. Cannon High School
1933- J.W. Cannon burns down due to faulty wiring
1934- Cannon High School is rebuilt
1950-51- A.L. Brown High School is built just 50 yards southeast of Cannon High. Cannon High becomes J.W. Cannon Jr High
1957- An eight classroom science wing is added to the west end of the main building
1958- The W.J. Bullock Physical Education building is constructed. Kannapolis Memorial Stadium is built and the central courtyard is added.
1967- The Samuel B. Stroup Vocational Arts Building, The Ruth Coltrane Cannon Musical Education Center and the Administrative Annex is constructed.
4-17-74- Roof burns. Graduation is moved to W.J. Bullock gymnasium.
1976- Bullock Gymnasium is extensively renovated under the direction of Bob Boswell.
1-10-82- J.W. Cannon Jr High burns down. (fire caused by accident) Gymnasium, Cafeteria, and Home Economics buildings remain.
1991- Media Center Wing is constructed.
1993- Cafeteria addition is constructed.
1994- Main Office is renovated.
1995- Music Building roof picthed. Roof is replaced on Bullock Gym.
1995- An eight classroom science wing is added to existing science wing.
1997- Cyber Campus comes online.
2003- Science wing basement is renovated. Becomes the Mathematics Wing.
2005- Cannon Cafeteria and Home Economics Wing are demolished.
2006- Auxilliary Physical Education building is constructed, and auditorium is extensively renovated. An addition is built for the central office, and main office is rebuilt.
2007- The freshman academy is created.
2009- The Biotech Wing (STEM Academy) begins construction.
2011- STEM Academy is completed.
Timeline Courtesy of Wikipedia
"The Hidden Spaces of A.L. Brown High School"
Ghosts Under the Stage?
"There is definitely Something Down There"
Being a 1984 graduate of A.L. Brown High School I was often told about the ghosts that reside under the stage area of the A.L. Brown Auditorium which is now known as the Kannapolis Performing Arts Center. I never really gave it much thought nor did I actually believe in that type of thing anyway. I'm not a superstitious person, and I don't believe in spooks, but while I was in the auditorium on this day taking pictures for this feature I couldn't resist taking a closer look some twenty seven years since the last time I was in this location....best of all I was all alone to let my imagination run rampant. Just before taking my trip down to the auditorium I was told by one of the staff members Mrs.Camilla Buckwell that I had better "beware of the ghosts in the basement." I just laughed, and asked her if she would like to join me? She most emphatically said No! So off I went very eager to get some good photos of this beautiful facility.
After taking all the photos I needed from the main hall and stage area it was time to take that journey DOWN INTO THE ABYSS, known to all alumni as the "BELOW STAGE" area. I took my trusty camera with me to document anything I saw as I made my stroll down. Now let me set up the atmosphere for you who were not there. The temperature throughout the auditorium was very pleasant this day, and though I didn't have a thermometer I estimated the temperature to be around 68 to 70 degrees. As I reached the bottom floor there was really no temperature difference to be noticed. So much for the "Ammityville Scenario."
After taking all the photos I needed from the main hall and stage area it was time to take that journey DOWN INTO THE ABYSS, known to all alumni as the "BELOW STAGE" area. I took my trusty camera with me to document anything I saw as I made my stroll down. Now let me set up the atmosphere for you who were not there. The temperature throughout the auditorium was very pleasant this day, and though I didn't have a thermometer I estimated the temperature to be around 68 to 70 degrees. As I reached the bottom floor there was really no temperature difference to be noticed. So much for the "Ammityville Scenario."
I traversed the entire length of the sub stage area, and stood quietly for some length of time watching and listening. I had pretty much given up on any kind of excitement, and turned around to make my way back from which I came. As I reached the area which in this photo above is illuminated, I spotted a door just to my left, and gave the knob a little twist. The door was unlocked so I thought hmmm...lets just see whats in here. I opened the door, and was then in what appeared to be some type of storage area. The temperature was still pretty much the same inside this room as well.
As I entered the open room I immediately noticed another door staring me right in the face, and it too was closed. I gave the knob a gentle twist, and found it to be unlocked as well. As the door opened a noticeable rush of cool air hit me in the face like a sledgehammer, and it was a good ten degrees cooler than the rest of the area. I found a light switch, and as I turned the lights on I stood amazed at what I saw directly in front of me. It was an unfinished stone wall littered with the names of classmates from ages past. As I stood staring at these names, and the years that were festooned beside some of them, I began to hear the faint voices of my own classmates of 84 calling my name. And the voices seemed to come from all over the room.
Not feeling threatened by anything that was going on I chose instead to take my camera and photograph the names on this wall like I was photographing the scene of a crime. Each name was a testament to the year it represented. A time capsule to an age that had long passed, and would never return. As I stared at these names I couldn't help but wonder if some of these people on this wall were still with us in this life. It began to feel very eery in this room the longer I stayed. I then noticed the name of one my own classmates from 1984. My mind drifted back to that year, and to all the wonderful people I shared my high school experience with. My heart began to beat just a little faster as the memories of that time rushed back like the Amtrak making it's way through the square uptown.
It was at this time I began to hear the distinct voices of a chorus singing the music from "fame" and the sounds of the concert band playing the theme from the "Rockford Files" but awkwardly out of time and slightly off key. I knew this music well, for I heard it before in this very location many years ago. It was the echos of performances by school bands and chorus members who had performed these arrangements on the stage just above where I was standing. The music was very clear and I could hear the sounds of applause from the many observers sitting in the auditorium. It was then that I heard what would be the strangest sound of all in this phsycological parade of lost memories. I heard the voice of Fran Wilkinson Garver reciting the opening lines in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" the part she played back in 1974 with her drama class. It was all getting a little too peculiar now, so I thought it was time to go. As I walked out of the room a chill came over me as if I had just been through some type of time warp. Part of me wanted to stay, but the other part knew it was time to move on. I guess that's part of the process of getting older, and that is letting go. Letting go of a time that was dear to me, but could no longer be recaptured.
So what did I come away with from this beneath the stage experience? I don't really know. Some may think this is just the mindless ramblings of a man who was overwhelmed by the bombardment of nostalgic symbolism that resonates from this room. I can't really say what it was, but I do know this. The sounds I heard were real. Just as real as they were the first time I heard them long ago and far away. I don't believe just anybody can hear these sounds if they dare decide to make the journey down below the stage. I believe it's a sound only an alumni from this school can hear. Ghosts? Probably not, but the spirits of generations of students that once attended this school that time has forgotten, but the walls of this room clearly remember. I do know this for certain, there is definitely something down there. Something that will speak to you if you give it the chance. ooooooweeeeeoooooo
"In the Attic"
After my experience beneath the stage of the auditorium I made my way back up the steps when all of the sudden I ran into "Joe the Maintenance Man" Really.... his name was Joe. I told him what I was doing, and that I was a graduate of this school twenty seven years ago at which time he asked me had I ever been in the attic or on the roof of the school? I told him I had not. He said if I wanted he would take me up there to get some photos. I couldn't resist the opportunity to boldly go where I had never gone before. Lol.
So off we went. We walked up the stairwell on the West end of the school where it dead ends, and stepped through a small door that Joe had to unlock. Once inside the noticeable smell of age hit me. I know that smell very well having been in many old houses in my time, but this smell was even stronger. As I entered the first thing I noticed was the blackness of charring that was all over the massive steel beams and masonry stone. Evidence of the massive fire that raged within the confines of this area some thirty seven years ago in 1974. I was very young then, but remember the event well because my oldest sister Wendy was unable to go to school for a few days after this. Collecting myself from the aura of nostalgia I was experiencing I broke out my camera and snap, snap, snap. I could have stayed up there for hours, but I knew Joe had a job to do, and I didn't want to keep him tied up escorting me around. We walked over the top of the second floor and made a right turn through a door that led you to the area directly over the auditorium.
So off we went. We walked up the stairwell on the West end of the school where it dead ends, and stepped through a small door that Joe had to unlock. Once inside the noticeable smell of age hit me. I know that smell very well having been in many old houses in my time, but this smell was even stronger. As I entered the first thing I noticed was the blackness of charring that was all over the massive steel beams and masonry stone. Evidence of the massive fire that raged within the confines of this area some thirty seven years ago in 1974. I was very young then, but remember the event well because my oldest sister Wendy was unable to go to school for a few days after this. Collecting myself from the aura of nostalgia I was experiencing I broke out my camera and snap, snap, snap. I could have stayed up there for hours, but I knew Joe had a job to do, and I didn't want to keep him tied up escorting me around. We walked over the top of the second floor and made a right turn through a door that led you to the area directly over the auditorium.
"On the Roof"
Once in the area over the auditorium Joe explained to me what he had to do to change the light bulbs over the auditorium, and I tell you right now it ain't easy, and realizing the altitude from the ceiling to the floor it was down right scary. Joe then walked a few feet over to the right of the door we had just entered, and climbed up a short wooden ladder that led to an escape hatch. Joe popped the hatch, and I immediately saw the blue/gray colors of the clouds outside. It reminded me of the scene in the Poseidon Adventure when the passengers who were trapped inside the ship were finally rescued, and they got their first look of the outside world after being trapped for days in the belly of the ships hull. Climbing through the hatch we were then on the roof of the school, and the view was amazing. It was a little cloudy this day, but the clouds made for a very interesting contrast to the area I had just escaped from. Joe and I traversed the roof for about thirty minutes talking about the school and snapping pictures.
This day turned out to be everything I hoped it would be, and more. Discovering things about the school I attended so many years ago for the very first time was so cool. All good things must come to an end however, so Joe and I proceeded back down the wooden ladder to go back inside the attic. As we made our way back to the escape hatch for re entry into the underworld I came face to face with one last sign of nostalgia as I began to make my descent below. Written on the backside of the hatch door in orange paint was the name "Billy G 67" and the initials "EAR 68." A final notice to me that someone else had left footsteps long before mine at this very spot on the roof, and this school. Makes you understand your place in the grand scheme of things in this life. We are all dust in the wind!
Overall this day was very exciting, and a humbling experience learning new things, and reliving some fond memories while gathering material for this new feature section. The most special moments was getting to walk the halls I walked down some twenty seven years ago for the first time since I graduated. I could even pick out my old locker in the main building. For me A.L. Brown High School is a very special place. As a teenager in 1984 all I wanted was to get out, and make my own mark in the world, but little did I know I was leaving a mark of my own already at this school. It would take many years later for me to fully appreciate the place I call my alma mater, and today the pride I feel in having attended this school burns stronger than it ever did. It is a pride I'm trying hard to instill in my own daughter who will be a rising senior in 2013, and who will one day travel back in time to this place as I did today and reflect on days gone by. A.L. Brown High School is a special place indeed, and will always hold a special place in my heart. It is truly the place where the street of dreams begins for many who walk these hallowed halls.
Overall this day was very exciting, and a humbling experience learning new things, and reliving some fond memories while gathering material for this new feature section. The most special moments was getting to walk the halls I walked down some twenty seven years ago for the first time since I graduated. I could even pick out my old locker in the main building. For me A.L. Brown High School is a very special place. As a teenager in 1984 all I wanted was to get out, and make my own mark in the world, but little did I know I was leaving a mark of my own already at this school. It would take many years later for me to fully appreciate the place I call my alma mater, and today the pride I feel in having attended this school burns stronger than it ever did. It is a pride I'm trying hard to instill in my own daughter who will be a rising senior in 2013, and who will one day travel back in time to this place as I did today and reflect on days gone by. A.L. Brown High School is a special place indeed, and will always hold a special place in my heart. It is truly the place where the street of dreams begins for many who walk these hallowed halls.
"J.W. Cannon Jr High School"
Tribute to an Icon
"It is in fact a part of the function of education to help us escape, not from our own time — for we are bound by that — but from the intellectual and emotional limitations of our time" ~T.S. Eliot
Being a member of the Boosters Club at A.L. Brown High School I am afforded the opportunity to park in the reserved parking lot which sits directly in front of the stadium ticket booth on the campus of A.L. Brown High School. As I'm walking to the stadium from this lot I can't help but reflect back to the many times my feet walked on that very ground from 1980 to 1982. You see in those years the boosters reserved parking lot was the home to J.W. Cannon Junior High School a place where I attended school during my eigth and ninth grade years, and from which both my parents graduated when it was the primary high school in Kannapolis. Aside from a small historical marker with words carved in granite stone one would be hard pressed to realize a school ever stood in that spot so long ago. Unless you are a native of Kannapolis or an historical buff there is nothing left in that original spot aside from two oak trees to remind you the school ever existed.
The building burned to the ground on the bitterly cold night of January 9, 1982 by a fire of suspcious origin. Fire seemed to define the three block area from North Rose Avenue accross the way to East C Street which were the epicenters to three of the areas largest schools. G.W. Carver, J.W. Cannon, and A.L. Brown who all fell victim to fire during their lifetime. Two of those schools would perished totally. On that cold night firemen did all they could do under the existing conditions to save the school, but the fire was too large, and too intense to bring under control. The tempratures that night were sub freezing which caused water hoses to freeze during the efforts so attempts to put the fire out were totally abandonded, and the school was allowed to burn. Later it was said that demolition of the school was iminent, and the fire actually aided in that efort, but far more than just a school burned that night. For many residents in Kannapolis it was the end of an era. I personally remember feeling like some of my best times in school had vanished as each floor fell one by one due to the intense heat of the fire that night. I remember during my sophomore year sitting inside my homeroom at A.L. Brown in the days following the fire quietly watching the remains of the landmark smolder, and realizing the school was no more. It was a sad time for many. In creating this section for Friday Nights in K-Town I felt it was only appropriate that I pay tribute of my own to the school I attended in my youth, and that which holds so many fond memories of my pre high school days. I might add that my class, the class of 1984 would be the last class to lay footprints within the confines of J.W. Cannon Junior High School, and for that I feel honored.
The building burned to the ground on the bitterly cold night of January 9, 1982 by a fire of suspcious origin. Fire seemed to define the three block area from North Rose Avenue accross the way to East C Street which were the epicenters to three of the areas largest schools. G.W. Carver, J.W. Cannon, and A.L. Brown who all fell victim to fire during their lifetime. Two of those schools would perished totally. On that cold night firemen did all they could do under the existing conditions to save the school, but the fire was too large, and too intense to bring under control. The tempratures that night were sub freezing which caused water hoses to freeze during the efforts so attempts to put the fire out were totally abandonded, and the school was allowed to burn. Later it was said that demolition of the school was iminent, and the fire actually aided in that efort, but far more than just a school burned that night. For many residents in Kannapolis it was the end of an era. I personally remember feeling like some of my best times in school had vanished as each floor fell one by one due to the intense heat of the fire that night. I remember during my sophomore year sitting inside my homeroom at A.L. Brown in the days following the fire quietly watching the remains of the landmark smolder, and realizing the school was no more. It was a sad time for many. In creating this section for Friday Nights in K-Town I felt it was only appropriate that I pay tribute of my own to the school I attended in my youth, and that which holds so many fond memories of my pre high school days. I might add that my class, the class of 1984 would be the last class to lay footprints within the confines of J.W. Cannon Junior High School, and for that I feel honored.
J.W. Cannon Junior High School:
Architect M. McDivett, Cannon Mills
Contractor: Public Works Administrator
Cost to Build: $10,000
Opening Date: August of 1924
First Recorded Priniciple: H.B. Waters
First Superintendent: L.L. Smith, 1917-1918
Architect M. McDivett, Cannon Mills
Contractor: Public Works Administrator
Cost to Build: $10,000
Opening Date: August of 1924
First Recorded Priniciple: H.B. Waters
First Superintendent: L.L. Smith, 1917-1918
"The Aftermath"
"Requiem to an Old Friend"
“Men have contrived instruments to measure the motion of time, but they have no scales to weigh, no figures to compute, no words to describe its value.” ~John Thornton