Charles M. Robinson designed Matthew Whaley School, the Georgian Revival landmark that rose between 1929 and 1930 beside the Governor's Palace. The Georgian Revival structure you see was designed by Virginia architect Charles M. Robinson and built between 1929 and 1930, a monumental school building that quickly became a local landmark adjacent to the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg. Notice the exterior: Flemish bond brickwork with glazed headers, trimmed with a modillion cornice; a hipped slate roof pierced by gables and topped by a pair of glazed cupolas.
The building has been well preserved with little alteration. For years the school served as a training school for the College of William and Mary and as a general public school teaching children from kindergarten through twelfth grade. In 1955, when James Blair High School opened, Matthew Whaley became a grammar school for kindergarten through fifth grade.
More recently, from 1997 to 1998 the school underwent a $5.4 million renovation which included improvements. Notice the modillion cornice and glazed cupolas overhead, with the Governor's Palace rising just beyond.