Field Trip: Go Back to School at Campus No. 805 in Huntsville

Do you remember the last time you were in a public-school bathroom? For me, it was 1993, and I was standing guard. Inside the stall were Amy and Stephanie, the most risqué third graders at Germantown Elementary. They were changing out of the loose, stonewashed jeans their mothers had dressed them in and into skin-tight neon bike shorts they thought better complemented their splatter-paint T-shirts. Outfitted in a chunky turtleneck and thick plastic glasses, I was a nervous wreck. In fact, I was so sweaty by the time our teacher entered the bathroom and asked why there were two sets of feet under the stall that my glasses slid off my face. I tried (and failed) to lie, Amy and Stephanie were apprehended, and I was no longer welcome at their lunch table.

If you ever went to grade school, you know this type of trauma. What you may not know is how cathartic it is to go back and laugh about these memories from the comfortable distance of 25 years in the future. I recently did just that in a surprising place: Huntsville, Ala.

At Campus No. 805, a former school that’s been repurposed into a mixed-use facility, you can relive all the good parts of adolescence while no longer covered in braces and baby fat and shame. Campus has everything: an arcade, a taco joint, a coffee shop, a brewery, virtual golf, an obligatory ax-throwing place — and that’s just in one building. The coolest part is that they kept all the bones of the school, so you can play pool in the principal's office and board games in study hall; you can visit a brewing operation in a gymnasium that’s still outfitted with scoreboards and hoops; and you can walk down a long, white hallway past trophy cases and doors with tall-and-skinny windows while running your finger down the grout between the oversized bricks — all with a cold beer in your hand. 

Here’s your class schedule.

History

The Campus building originally opened in 1951 as a high school before becoming Roy L. Stone Middle School in 1967. For 42 years, it churned out Alabama’s best and brightest, until shuttering in 2009. Five years later, developer Randy Schrimsher recognized the potential of Huntsville’s growing arts and entertainment scene, so he bought the school and named it Campus No. 805 to pay homage to West Huntsville. (The area’s zip code is 35805). Schrimsher recruited a few breweries and set about finding architects to reconceive of the space. Today there are 18 tenants and counting. 

Computer Science

Remember when teachers used to jam 20 kids into a portable to play The Oregon Trail and call that “computer class”? God, the ’90s were glorious. Whether you lived through that blissful time or not, you can recapture some throwback magic at Ronnie Raygun’s arcade with pinball machines ranging from Ghostbusters to Game of Thrones.

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If you did not ford the river every time, you were (and probably still are) a loser. 

Choir

Sing along to live music several nights of the week at The Bar at 805 or spin tunes on the jukebox at the Lone Goose Saloon, where you can also score a math credit by playing a game of Bingo. (It has numbers, and that’s good enough for me and for Alabama). 

Art

If you’re a “sips ’n’ strokes” kind of pal, check out Spirited Art for a step-by-step painting class with a side of chardonnay. If, however, you only like watching paint dry, hit up The Lounge at Yellowhammer Brewery. The mid-century modern space was outfitted by a local antique dealer, and you can buy most of the decor to take home. Put that on your fridge, Mom!

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Lunch

There are several places to eat on campus, but you should start at Hops N Guac for one reason: the serve-yourself drink wall. Show your ID and swipe your card for an electronic wristband that unlocks 50 taps of beer, wine and cider. Scan your band, serve yourself and your drinks are automatically added to your tab. This whole setup is exactly as delightful and dangerous as it sounds. (To whatever real estate mogul brings fob-based booze to Nashville, please @ me because this is going to be a goldmine and I want in.) In addition to wall-mounted debauchery, this Mexican-fusion restaurant offers games such as snook ball (like pool and soccer had a baby) along with tasty Americanized tacos. Try the El Gringo, a classic hard-shell beef taco gussied up with cilantro mousse, or the Ninja Pig: sweet, crispy pork in hoisin sauce with cucumber-jicama slaw. Bonus: The booze laws for Huntsville’s Arts & Entertainment District fall more in line with NOLA than Nashville, so you can grab a purple cup from most any establishment and take your drink to go.

Phys. Ed.

In order to log the whopping 30 minutes of physical activity Alabama requires for students per day, hit S.R. Butler Green, the adjacent urban park created by the city out of the old recreational fields. The 13-acre space is often full of locals throwing balls to dogs, enjoying small concerts, eating from food trucks, or simply sleeping off The Fob-based Booze Wall. If outdoor activity isn’t your style, try indoor activities such as virtual golf, ax throwing or ballroom dancing. Whatever you choose, please complete all physical feats before venturing to your final stop.

Science

Do kids still dissect fetal pigs? I’ve had bacon twice today and I am still scarred by the smell of formaldehyde, so we’re going to opt out of biology here and into chemistry — specifically, the chemistry of cocktails. Straight to Ale operates in the old gymnasium, and they also have a hidden speakeasy where you can taste cocktails featuring their own Shelta Cavern Spirits. On the other side of The Green, Yellowhammer Brewing serves hot and fresh wood-fired pizzas, my favorite of which is the salty-in-title-and-taste PMS: pepperoni, mushrooms and sausage. Yellowhammer focuses on Belgian and German ales with a Southern spin, such as the T-Minus Kölsch, a tangerine-flavored brew inspired by the powdered orange drink that accompanied America's first astronauts to space.

And with that, I hope to be the first person to ever write 1,000 words about Huntsville before mentioning Spaaaaaace, only to ignore it entirely. Class dismissed.

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