Old Taylor High School turned into small business shopping center

TAYLOR, Texas - A few years ago, the Old Taylor High School in downtown was facing possible demolition, but now shopping bags have replaced backpacks and school lunches can be swapped for candy.

"It's kind of fitting to have all these board games, nerd stuff in a high school," said Brian O'Quinn, owner of Mother’s Basement and Press Start. "It kind of feels right."

You won’t find students or teachers at Old Taylor High; the last time a school bell rang was in 2001.

"I think that's the draw," said O'Quinn. "It's such a unique venue."

The building went up for auction in 2016.

"We're a little crazy," said Cliff Olle, the owner of Old Taylor High. "So, I actually went to my wife one day, I said 'Hey, do you want to buy a high school? You know, we can do all this fun stuff with it,' and she said absolutely not."

It's safe to say, the idea flunked, but over time things changed. "We decided to move forward and it's been great," said Olle.

Olle and his wife opened Old Taylor High in 2019. One tenant turned into 27 and soon the classrooms were filled with eateries, an ice cream shop, and other small businesses.

"I get people who used to go to this school come by and point out what used to be in this classroom or that classroom or and all the lore that there's ghosts and stuff," said O'Quinn. "It's really really fun."

It's been 100 years since Old Taylor High School opened its doors to teach young minds, but now it serves a different purpose: home to 27 small businesses, eateries, and specialty shops.

MORE TEXAS NEWS

• Downtown Holiday Sing Along & Stroll rings in holiday season in Austin
• Grinch watch: Kyle PD brings back creative holiday PSA campaign
• UT campus lights up for the holidays with Longhorn Lights

An old English classroom was transformed into an arcade and another room turned into a restaurant.

"Even in Georgetown we have a whole bunch of places that are abandoned and it's really cool to see a place like this being converted into all these different little shops," said Rory Tierney.

Customers like Tierney said they're here for some small-town shopping.

"We just bought some blow molds from this booth right here," said Tierney. "We have a couple of blow molds at home and we just wanted to add some more to the repertoire."

This year, Old Taylor High celebrated 100 years and now its doors will stay open for students and shoppers alike.

"It's been far bigger than we thought it would be," said Olle. "We got a lot of community support, we got a lot of support from the city after things got going and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger." 

Old Taylor High is open every day but the next Christmas market day will be on Saturday, Dec. 16.