Around the start of the 20th century, Brooklyn experienced a rapidly growing population, and the original small school was enlarged with the addition of several wings and the purchase of several nearby buildings. In 1904, the Board of Education began a new building campaign to meet the needs of the burgeoning student population. The Superintendent of School Buildings, architect C. B. J. Snyder, designed a series of buildings to be constructed as needed, around an open quadrangle, while continuing to use the old building in the center of the courtyard. The original Academy building, which still stands in the courtyard of the current school, served the students of Erasmus Hall in three different centuries. Now a designated New York City Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the building is a museum exhibiting the school's history.
Due to poor academic scores, the city closed Erasmus Hall High School in 1994, turning the building into Erasmus Hall Educational Campus and using it as the location for five separate small schools.
History
Erasmus Hall Academy
Erasmus Hall Academy was founded as a private school by Reverend John H. Livingston and Senator John Vanderbilt in 1786 and became the first secondary school chartered by the New York State Board of Regents.[4] Land was donated by the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church for the building and contributions were collected for “an institution of higher learning,” from leading citizens such as Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, Peter Lefferts and Robert Livingston.
The wood-framed, clapboard-sided, Georgian and Federal style school building,[3] two and one-half stories tall with hipped roof, was opened in 1787 with 26 students. Through the years, various wings were added to the academy building and later removed.
Erasmus Hall Academy began accepting female students in 1801, and in 1803 it incorporated the village school of Flatbush. The village evolved into a city, and started a public school system that competed with Erasmus for its student body. As a result, there was a steady decline in its enrollment until in 1896 enrollment was reduced to 150 boys and girls, up from the 105 boys who were registered in the school in 1795.[5] The board of trustees decided to donate the academy to the public school system with the following resolution by the board of trustees:
That the Board of Trustees offer the grounds of the Academy to the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn upon the following conditions, viz: In consideration of the gift of the land the Board of Education are to erect and maintain upon said land a High School Building of the same character and grade as other High School Buildings in the City of Brooklyn.[6]
Erasmus Hall High School
The main tower
Following the agreement with the Erasmus Hall Board of Trustees, the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn requested proposals for a design for a new school building. Twenty architects responded with plans, several of which were published in contemporary architectural periodicals.[7]
It soon became clear that none of these plans could be erected for less than a million dollars, and since that was considered too expensive, the project was dropped.[8] The Brooklyn Board of Education did however, approve "temporary additions" to the school to accommodate the growing population and purchased additional property to allow more room to build a new school.[9]
With the consolidation of the City of New York in 1898, the highly varied needs of schools in all the boroughs came under the purview of the New York City school board. This board had to cope with a sizable number of independently administered school districts, each with its own curricula, grade divisions, educational policies, and standards, and weld them all into a single, uniform educational system. At the same time, New York City was experiencing a huge influx of immigrants (increasing the school registers between 1900 and 1904 by 132,000 pupils),[10] and the schools were expected to help Americanize these new students. New high schools were needed in all the boroughs and the Board of Education authorized large new buildings for Morris High School in the Bronx, DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx, Curtis High School in Staten Island, Flushing High School in Queens, and Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn.[11]
In the interim, however, before a new building for Erasmus Hall could be constructed, the Board of Education purchased more land along Bedford Avenue near the existing building, and established classrooms in the expansion buildings that were already on the lot.[12] They also used classrooms in other schools,[13] such as P.S. 977,[14] and held half-day classes.[15]
The modern high school was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style that Snyder used on many of his buildings.
On August 17, 1904, the New York City School Board's Committee on Buildings presented its plans for a new campus for Erasmus Hall High School. It was designed to be constructed around the existing, centrally-located buildings, so that classes could continue to be held there until the new buildings were ready. The plan called for a full quadrangle of buildings along the perimeter of the large lot. It was constructed during four periods: 1905-1906, 1909-1911, 1924-1925, and 1939-1940, with the two later buildings supervised by William H. Gompert and Eric Kebbon, respectively. Its buff brick facades have limestone and terra cotta trim and feature central entrance towers with Oriel windows and crenellatedparapets, Tudor-arched entrances, label moldings, and large window groupings. The style of Erasmus Hall evolved over the years so that the most recent buildings are simpler, with less ornamentation, but retain the general characteristics of the earlier ones, giving a sense of unity to the entire composition. The first buildings would be constructed along Flatbush Avenue, with others added over time, as the need became clear and funds became available.[16]
Phase One
Snyder explained his plans for the first phase as follows:
... A careful study of the matter convinced me that after all it was a good thing for the future of the school that the present one could not be disturbed, for therein lay the suggestion for a design unique in high schools of the country... A quadrangle enclosed by buildings devoted to various departments of school work.
The buildings, therefore, have been designed as a screen across the end of the quadrangle, shutting out the noise and confusion of Flatbush Avenue traffic, the only entrance being through the large arch under the tower, which is placed on the axis of the longer dimension of the plot.[17]
This, as designed, would be called a chapel were it part of a college, but if we may not aspire to this, yet I have thought that it might be known as 'the Hall.' As such the endeavor has been to design a harmonious, impressive room, in a style permeated with history and romance; a place which, of all others, will stand out clearly in the loving memory of the student in after years for his alma mater. Its walls, columns and arches should bear the trophies won in athletic and scholastic contests, there to be preserved and handed down as part of the glorious history of the school.[18][19]
There have been no designs made for this elevation (Bedford Avenue), but the aim has been to have a central tower on the same axis as that on Flatbush Avenue, through the archway in the base of which will be afforded a view of the 'quad' with its greensward, trees, shrubs and vines. What the ultimate design of the various buildings going to make up the group may be, it is, of course, impossible to say, but in designing and planning that portion which you now see approaching completion, I have always intended that the whole should be a graphic illustration of the various phases of the so-called Gothic movement, from the Round Arch to the Flamboyant and on through its later transitional stage.[20]
The Committee on Buildings described the first section, estimated to cost not more than $300,000, this way:
It consists of an entrance tower which will be the center of what will afterwards be the completed front on Flatbush avenue; to the left of the tower and connected therewith has been placed the building in the rear portion of which will be the auditorium, classrooms, library, etc. The building will be three and four stories in height.
The basement will contain the gymnasium, placed beneath the auditorium, lecture rooms, baths, toilet room, etc., the boiler or power room being placed beneath the driveway of the tower, one of the turrets of which is utilized for a smoke flue.
The first floor will contain the offices of the principal of the school, two classrooms and the auditorium.
The second story will contain a library 40 feet (12 m) square with a gallery facing the second story of the tower, the balance of the floor being apportioned to the gallery of the auditorium, four classrooms, teacher's rooms, toilets, etc.
The third floor will contain four classrooms, demonstration room, balance room, chemical laboratory, and lecture room.
The fourth story, which is over a portion of the building, will contain four classrooms. The completed scheme of which this is only a part contemplates the erection of a building on the northerly side of the tower for additional classrooms and laboratories, etc., as may be needed in the future.
The cornerstone for the new building was laid in January 1905 and work was begun immediately, resulting in seating for an additional 600 students. The construction contract was initially supposed to run until October 1905, but revisions required by the school board for laboratories and classrooms necessitated changes in the electrical and sanitation plans and delayed the work. The building was opened to students in September 1906.[21]
In 1906, the committee purchased a real estate lot that was 57' 10" X 138' 9" X 359' 3" X 7' 3" X 493' 6" “adjoining Erasmus Hall High School... to permit carrying out of the scheme for a building commanding a quadrangle, and will be built upon as soon as the school is in need of additional accommodations.[22]
Phase Two
Although the first section of the new building brought the total students accommodated in 1906 to 1,750, by 1907 Erasmus Hall was again overcrowded, requiring the use of an annex at P.S. 42.
In his annual report, the Superintendent of Schools declared that,
The largest growth in high schools is found in Brooklyn. This growth arises not only from the natural increase in the number of pupils entering from the Brooklyn elementary schools, but also from the number of pupils entering from the Manhattan elementary schools ...The consequence is that the Brooklyn high schools are all crowded to excess.[23]
Concerned citizens of the area wrote to the Board of Education emphasizing:
... the fact that the new building contains only twelve classrooms, accommodating only 420 pupils, whereas there are fifty-two classes, comprising 1,591 pupils, occupying classrooms in the old frame school building and cottages, all of which are utterly unfit for use.[24]
The Superintendent's Annual Report for 1910 reported that 3,114 pupils were enrolled at Erasmus Hall High School and that they were accommodated in four different annex buildings in addition to the main one.[25]
In 1909, the Board of Education approved Snyder's plans for the next section of the school. This group of three buildings, including one to the north of the tower facing Flatbush Avenue, and two extending east along the northern side of the lot, comprised 31 classrooms, laboratories, study hall, music, drawing, physics, lecture and shop rooms.[26] When this Church Avenue addition opened in September 1911, there was room for 1,451 more students in the main school.[27]
Phase Three
The ever-growing school population continued to present challenges to the school board. In his report of May 21, 1924 on construction and maintenance, the Superintendent of Schools discussed "the stupendous building program now being carried on by the Board of Education..."[28] The reason for this situation was given as a backlog of not enough building over several years, as well as an increase in high school population in New York City from 20,948 students in 1904, to 109,370 in 1924. These large numbers were attributed to many factors, including the passage and enforcement of a compulsory education law and the appreciation by more parents of the advantages of higher education to their children. In April 1924, the Board of Education approved the Bedford Avenue addition to Erasmus Hall High School. Snyder had left his position with the Board of Education shortly before construction of this section, but an elevation drawing in the collection of the Art Commission, by C. B. J. Snyder shows the building essentially as built. William Gompert had been appointed in his place and supervised the construction. Although somewhat simpler than his earlier buildings, the Bedford building has a central tower with an arched passageway into the courtyard, on axis with the tower on Flatbush Avenue.[29] The building contained many new classrooms, gymnasia and a large swimming pool along the courtyard and was opened on February 2, 1902.[30]
A statue of Erasmus, cast from the 1622 original in Rotterdam by Hendrick de Keyser and donated by Richard Young, an alumnus of the school, was installed in the school's courtyard.[31] Dedicated in 1931, the base is engraved with the words:
Desiderius Erasmus, the maintainer and restorer of the sciences and polite literature, the greatest man of his century, the excellent citizen who, through his immortal writings, acquired an everlasting fame.
Phase Four
Lobbying began in 1929 for the construction of the final section, the building on the south side of the lot connecting the Bedford Avenue building with the auditorium near Flatbush Avenue. Money was not appropriated for this until 1937, and it was finally built in 1939–40.[32] Under the supervision of the school system's then chief architect, Eric Kebbon, the five-story building was an even more simplified version of Snyder's earlier work. It contained many classrooms, art and homemaking rooms, a girls' gym and a large library, and could accommodate 1,566 additional pupils. The new section opened in September 1940. To construct this building, the original frame school house had to be moved and its several wings demolished. Work on the old structure was begun by the Works Progress Administration, but was halted due to the outbreak of World War II. After the war, the relocation and restoration of the old building was completed and it was used for administrative offices.
In 1987, in celebration of the school's bicentennial, limited archaeological excavations were conducted under the auspices of Brooklyn College. The archaeologists discovered that intact deposits from the 18th and 19th centuries associated with the development of the school are still in place.[33]
Closure and current status
In 1994, after years of poor academic scores, the huge Erasmus Hall High School was divided internally into five smaller high schools, each concentrating on a different academic area.[34] The five schools have separate administrations and faculties, and hold classes in different sections of the large building. However, they use the common lunchroom, gymnasium, library and auditorium at separate times during the day. This division created no changes on the exterior of the building.
As of 2010, separate high schools now operate on the Erasmus Hall Educational Campus:[35]
Academy for College Preparation and Career Exploration: A College Board School (K382)
Academy of Hospitality and Tourism (K408)
High School for Service & Learning at Erasmus (K539)
High School for Youth and Community Development at Erasmus (K537)
Science, Technology and Research Early College High School/Middle School at Erasmus (K543)
Restorations
In 2011, the columns that supported the building were found to have structural problems, and that year, the building received a restoration. A 2019 report states that "the building still needs more love but in 2017 Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams pledged $650,000 of the capital budget for exterior restoration".[36]
Notable alumni
Erasmus Hall has had a number of famous and accomplished alumni (and some who are mistakenly believed to have attended, such as Barbara Stanwyck). Some of the better known, including (class year, or birth and death dates), are listed below.
Pre-20th century
John M. Berrien (1793); Attorney General of the United States and Senator.
Donald Dubin (1933-2022) Founding member Microbiology Dept, Rutgers Medical School; research in antimicrobial resistance, RNA modification, and AIDS transmission.
Genevieve Earle (1885–1956); first woman elected to the New York City Council, in 1937
Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee (1896-1966); well-known figure in the women's suffrage movement, first Chinese woman in the United States to earn a PhD in Economics, established the First Chinese Baptist Church and the Chinese Community Center
Wayne Rhoden, attended Erasmus in 1981; music producer, singer, songwriter, sound engineer and video editor/director professionally known as the artist Father Goose Music
^Taylor, B. Kimberly. "Erasmus Hall High School and Academy of the Arts" in Jackson, Kenneth R. (ed.) The Encyclopedia of New York City (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995) p.382
^These included a French-inspired design for a tall, H-plan building topped by a mansard and cupola, by F. P. Dinkelberg, published in American Architect and Building News (February 5, 1898) and two more elaborate plans for extensive campuses, one by Mowbry & Uffinger and the other by J. G. Glover and H.C. Carrel, both published in Architecture and Building (October 8, 1898) and (April 23, 1898). According to minutes of the New York City school board on April 4, 1899, (301) plans for a new high school drawn by David W. Wilson and Jacob Thinnes, Jr. had been approved by the Brooklyn Board of Education, but the architects who had submitted plans had not been paid and were threatening to sue. The school board quickly authorized $200 to be paid to each designer.
^Snyder, C.B.J. Snyder. "Annual Report of the Superintendent of School Buildings, 1906", p.299
^For the decision to build additions to the existing building, see Minutes of the School Board of the Borough of Brooklyn, 1898 (June 21, 1898) 418. Plans for the addition were created by C.B.J. Snyder. Regarding the purchase of the property, see Minutes of the School Board of the Borough of Brooklyn, 1899, (March 7, 1899 and September 5, 1899) Pages 279–80 and Page 750, respectively.
^New York City School Buildings, 1806–1956 (New York: Board of Education, 1956) 28.
^Morris High School is located in the Morris High School Historic District and Curtis and Flushing High Schools are designated New York City Landmarks.
^Snyder was explaining his practical solution to the problems posed by the fact that the neighborhood around the school was changing from residential to commercial use.
^One of Snyder's first priorities was for an adequate assembly hall.
^He regretted that a gymnasium could not be included in the first part of the building, but he had “the expectation that a proper gymnasium building will be erected in the near future as one of the new group...”. He also admitted that, at that time,
^Letter, Charles B.J. Snyder to Mr. E.W. Herter; NYC Board of Education; 1904.
^Journal of the Board of Education, (January 25, 1905) p.81; (July 10, 1905) pp.1374-5; (September 13, 1905) p.1587; (September 26, 1906) p.1554.
^Chronicles, 1906–1937, p.42; and Journal of the Board of Education, 1939 (March 22, 1939) pp.511–4.
^Journal of the Board of Education, 1940 (June 29, 1940) p.943, and (August 28, 1940) p.1426. See also, Chronicles 1937–87, pp.13–7 In 1987, further restoration work was done and the building was converted into a museum of school history. See H. Arthur Bankoff and Frederick A. Winter, Erasmus Hall High School; of the Trial Excavations Conducted by the Brooklyn College Summer Archaeological Field School (Brooklyn, Brooklyn College, 1987) unpublished report in the files of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
^“High School Cell Division,” New York Times (1994-03-26).
^Berkow, Ira. "ARUM IS PROVEN RINGMASTER", The New York Times, April 7, 1987. Accessed December 3, 2007. "Why not? After five months since the signing for the fight, the man who came from Brooklyn, who went to Erasmus Hall High School, New York University and Harvard Law School, and who worked as a taxation expert on Wall Street, for the District Attorney's office in New York City, in the Justice Department during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, and who until 1965 had no interest in boxing – in two guys clubbing each other over the head – was about to make a profit for himself of somewhere between $3 million and $6 million."
^"The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York)" Fri, Mar 1, 1929 · Page 6. Accessed June 14, 2016. "Clara Bow "Breezes In" and Says Hello to Old Brooklyn Neighbors" "
^"Britannica article". Britannica article. June 22, 1950. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
^ abcdefghijk"The Rumble: AN OFF-THE-BALL LOOK AT YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS CELEBRITIES"Archived January 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, New York Post, December 31, 2006. Accessed December 13, 2007. "The five Erasmus Hall of Fame legends include Raiders owner Al Davis, Bears quarterback Sid Luckman, Yankee pitching great Waite Hoyt, Billy Cunningham and Knicks founder Ned Irish. Other sports notables include Bulls/White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, chess champion Bobby Fischer, ex-Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano, legendary NBA referee Norm Drucker and "Boys of Summer" author Roger Kahn. Erasmus also boasts Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, Mae West, Mickey Spillane and Beverly Sills."
^Eric R. Kandel: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2000, Nobel Foundation. Accessed September 20, 2007. "In 1944, when I graduated from the Yeshiva of Flatbush elementary school, it did not as yet have a high school. I went instead to Erasmus Hall High School, a local public high school in Brooklyn that was then academically very strong."
^Honan, William H."Daniel Mann, 79, the Director Of Successful Plays and Films", The New York Times, November 23, 1991. Accessed December 13, 2007. "Mr. Mann was born in Brooklyn, the youngest of five children of a lawyer named Samuel Chugermann. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, but quit after an argument with a physics teacher and completed his education at the Children's Professional School."
^Tommasini, Anthony. "Beverly Sills, All-American Diva With Brooklyn Roots, Is Dead at 78", The New York Times, July 4, 2007. Accessed November 6, 2007. "But her father put an end to her child-star career when she was 12 so that she could concentrate on her education at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and the Professional Children's School in Manhattan."
^Grimes, William. "Paul Sylbert, Oscar-Winner Who Gave Movies Their Look, Dies at 88", The New York Times, November 25, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2016. "Paul Sylbert was born on April 16, 1928, in Brooklyn, and grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood.... After graduating from Erasmus Hall High School in 1946, he served in the same Army unit in Korea as his brother."
Much of the information about the original school comes from the historical reviews compiled on significant anniversaries of the school for the three issues of The Chronicles of Erasmus Hall High School, 1906, 1906–1937, and 1937–1987 (New York: New York City Board of Education, 1906, 1937, 1987); National Register nomination form for Erasmus Hall Museum, prepared by Betty Ezequelle and Stephen Lash, 1973; and Marian Miller, “Erasmus Hall H.S. Boasts Proud History,'” Kings Courier (5/31/1976),101, and New York City Guide, (New York: Octagon Books, 1970, reprint of 1939 Federal Writers Publication), 493–4.
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