Georgetown Preparatory School - History

History

In 1789, Father John Carroll founded the Georgetown College (later to become Georgetown University). In the 1890s Georgetown College Preparatory School emerged as a distinct entity, and the current school was born. Georgetown Prep purchased land in what was originally Rockville, Maryland and today is in the Census Designate Place of North Bethesda, Maryland on July 14, 1915, because of the ensuing violence of the urban riots which led in 1919 to Prep moving from the city where Georgetown University resides. In 1927 the school legally separated from the University. Georgetown Prep is located in a suburban setting a few miles north of Bethesda, MD where are located the National Institutes of Health and the Bethesda Naval Medical Center, near the Grosvenor Station of the Washington Metro's Red Line.

In 2010, the school completed its significant reconstruction program to modernize its 90-acre (360,000 m2) campus. In January 2007, Georgetown Prep opened the Hanley Center for Athletic Excellence, a state-of-the-art athletic center that features a 200 meter indoor track, 11-lane swimming pool with diving area, competition basketball arena, wrestling room, 6000 s.f. weight training/cardiovascular room, and a team film room. Joe Hills, son of golf course architect, Arthur Hills, redesigned and severely shrank the school's golf course, which reopened in 2008. The next phase of construction converted the existing field house into a learning center featuring expanded and modern library facilities, classrooms, meeting rooms, and a recording studio. This learning center named after the immediate past president, Father William L. George S.J, opened for students on Tuesday, January 26, 2010.