The long-shuttered Hooper‑Renwick School in Lawrenceville has been reborn as a themed library and museum, keeping a painful yet proud chapter of Gwinnett County’s history very much alive. The 1951 brick building, once the only public high school for Black students in the county, now holds interactive exhibits, oral‑history recordings and a full branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library. Alumni who spent years fighting demolition say the overhaul turns a former symbol of segregation into a living civic space for the next generation.
Officials cut the ribbon on the 27,327‑square‑foot Hooper‑Renwick Themed Library on June 16, 2025, at 56 Neal Blvd. The roughly $20.5 million renovation was funded primarily through the county’s SPLOST program, with additional contributions from the city, according to Gwinnett County.
What visitors will see
Inside, the design leans into the school’s past. The original façade is preserved, rafters are exposed above the main reading area and the old gym floor has been repurposed for the upper‑level exhibit space. Hands‑on displays and recorded testimonies from former students sit side by side with everyday library services, blending history lesson and homework hub in the same footprint.
A feature from FOX 5 Atlanta spotlighted the oral‑history panels, while WSB‑TV zeroed in on the careful reuse of historic materials, the artifacts and alumni memories now on display.
Saved by alumni and the community
The project grew out of the Hooper‑Renwick Legacy Preservation Committee, a coalition of former students and residents who collected photos, desks and memorabilia to seed the museum galleries. Preservation leaders, including former student Coni Brown, framed the effort as one of memory and dignity, a point repeatedly emphasized in local coverage of the campaign. Reporting on alumni pressure and public funding and other regional accounts traced how that persistence kept the building standing through years of planning and design.
Funding, recognition and programming
The county reports that about $18.8 million in SPLOST funds, combined with roughly $1.7 million from the city, paid for the restoration and expansion. The adaptive‑reuse effort later picked up regional recognition when it was named a Redevelopment Project of the Year at the Metro Atlanta Redevelopment Summit, an honor local officials say validates the decision to prioritize preservation. Gwinnett County highlighted the award in November 2025…