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New Library App Arrives in May!

Prom Season at Bishop O’Connell

Post Published: May 1, 2019

Spring is in the air... time for April showers, May flowers and prom!

Did you go to your high school prom? These photos, scanned from Bishop O’Connell yearbooks, show prom outfits through the years. How do they compare to what you wore?

Prom Bishop O'Connell 1964 a row of young women in white dresses and young men in white jackets

Bishop O’Connell, 1964

Bishop O'Connell students serving themselves cake at their Senior Prom

Bishop O’Connell, 1977

Bishop O'Connell juniors wait for the prom dates, 1984

Bishop O’Connell, 1984

Bishop O'Connell students all dressed in black pose before heading to their Senior Prom, 1993

Bishop O’Connell, 1993

Although prom is now a high school tradition known for its extravagance and debauchery, it began in Northeast colleges and universities as pseudo coming-out event (prom is actually short for promenade).

Unfortunately, the Center for Local History's photo archive does not include many prom photos. This is partly because high school yearbooks tend to go to print before most proms are held.

Do you have photos of your Arlington prom that you would like to add to the Center for Local History's Community Archive? Visit or contact the Center for Local History at Central Library, and let us know!

To see more items like these, or to learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.

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May 1, 2019 by Web Editor Filed Under: App, Center for Local History, Throwback Thursday

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ray Koenig says

    May 14, 2019 at 2:08 PM

    thanks for the memories. I’m the one in the “1964” photo (3rd from the left) who looks like he’s being told something important from his prom date, fellow native Arlingtonian, Jenny Johnston. We’ve been married for 52 years and live in Strasburg VA. thanks for the memories!

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The Center for Local History (CLH) collects, preserves, and shares resources that illustrate Arlington County’s history, diversity and communities. Librarians and archivists develop collections of unique research material and make them available for use by residents, students, teachers, genealogists, scholars, authors, journalists and anyone interested in learning more about Arlington County.

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