Wadleigh High School for Girls
Encyclopedia
The Wadleigh High School for Girls
, which opened in 1903, was the first public high school for girls in New York City.
At the time, public secondary education for girls was considered highly novel and perhaps a bit scandalous. Newspapers considered it newsworthy enough to devote many stories to describing classroom scenes of girls receiving “higher” education.
in the creation and was the first “Lady Superintendent” of the New York Normal College, now known as Hunter College
.
Five stories tall, it had such wonders of the times as electric elevators and central forced air ventilation. The architect of the school was C.B.J. Snyder
, a noted public school architect who also designed such schools as DeWitt Clinton High School
and Erasmus Hall High School
. The brick-and-limestone school, done in a French Renaissance style, featured an imposing tower, stained glass windows, and a series of terra-cotta bas-relief shields with patriotic American motifs.
In 1993 a renovation, costing $47 million, was completed.
The following year, Wadleigh was designated a Landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Of course, the nature of that contribution was subject to the temper of the times. In 1910, Mrs. O.H.P. Belmont (see Alva Belmont
), a wealthy socialite, offered $100 in prizes to the girls of Wadleigh who could write the best essays on the subject of woman’s suffrage. The New York City Board of Education, in its wisdom, decided not to allow the contest to proceed with a view towards stopping the spread of woman suffrage propaganda in the public schools.
Later, in 1937, Dr. Harold G. Campbell, Superintendent of Schools, assured a gathering in celebration of the school’s 40th anniversary that “we at the Board of Education will do our best to keep Wadleigh as a school for ladies.”
and actresses Jean Stapleton and Isabel Sanford
.
, which opened in 1903, was the first public high school for girls in New York City.
At the time, public secondary education for girls was considered highly novel and perhaps a bit scandalous. Newspapers considered it newsworthy enough to devote many stories to describing classroom scenes of girls receiving “higher” education.
Namesake
The school was named for Lydia F. Wadleigh (1817–1888), who was a pioneer in higher education for women. In 1856 she established the 12th Street Advanced School for Girls in the face of “bitter opposition,” according to The New York Times. Later in her career, she assisted Thomas HunterThomas Hunter
Thomas Hunter may refer to:* Sir Tom Hunter, Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist* Thomas Hunter , Sinn Féin politician in the First Dáil and Second Dáil* Thomas Hunter , founder of Hunter College in New York...
in the creation and was the first “Lady Superintendent” of the New York Normal College, now known as Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
.
The Building
Located at 215 West 114th Street, the building was constructed during 1901-1902 and opened in 1903. Total cost for the land, building, and equipment was $900,000. At the time of its construction, it was praised by The New York Times as “the finest high school building in the world.”Five stories tall, it had such wonders of the times as electric elevators and central forced air ventilation. The architect of the school was C.B.J. Snyder
C.B.J. Snyder
Charles B. J. Snyder was a prolific American architect, architectural engineer, and mechanical engineer in the field of urban school building design and construction...
, a noted public school architect who also designed such schools as DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the Bronx, New York City, New York.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn...
and Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall Campus High School is a four-year public high school in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, United States operated by the New York City Department of Education....
. The brick-and-limestone school, done in a French Renaissance style, featured an imposing tower, stained glass windows, and a series of terra-cotta bas-relief shields with patriotic American motifs.
In 1993 a renovation, costing $47 million, was completed.
The following year, Wadleigh was designated a Landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Social History
Although 85% of the population in New York City at the time of its opening were either immigrants or children of immigrants, from its beginnings Wadleigh took pride in turning its students into “gentlewoman” who could assume their rightful place as contributors to American society.Of course, the nature of that contribution was subject to the temper of the times. In 1910, Mrs. O.H.P. Belmont (see Alva Belmont
Alva Belmont
Alva Erskine Belmont , née Alva Erskine Smith, also called Alva Vanderbilt from 1875 to 1896, was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the women's suffrage movement...
), a wealthy socialite, offered $100 in prizes to the girls of Wadleigh who could write the best essays on the subject of woman’s suffrage. The New York City Board of Education, in its wisdom, decided not to allow the contest to proceed with a view towards stopping the spread of woman suffrage propaganda in the public schools.
Later, in 1937, Dr. Harold G. Campbell, Superintendent of Schools, assured a gathering in celebration of the school’s 40th anniversary that “we at the Board of Education will do our best to keep Wadleigh as a school for ladies.”
Neighborhood and Subsequent History of the School
When the Wadleigh High School for Girls opened in 1902, the Harlem neighborhood in upper Manhattan where Wadleigh was located was a fashionable middle and upper class, mostly white and Jewish, area. Over the subsequent decades, Harlem become a center of black life in New York City, but it also became a more economically disadvantaged area as well. In 1937, Dr. John L. Tildsey, retired Associate Superintendent of Schools, was quoted in the New York Times as saying that the students at Wadleigh "have to pass through a neighborhood where gentlewomen do not like to pass." He further urged parents to "bring pressure on the Board of Education and the Board of Estimate for a new site on the upper West Side where they can send their girls in confidence and security." At the end of the 1953-1954 school year, Wadleigh was closed. It reopened in 1956 after some renovation as a co-educational junior high school. In 1993, after a complete renovation, Wadleigh became a co-educational secondary school. In the first decade of the 21st century, the building was split between two distinct schools: Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Frederick Douglas Academy II.Alumnae
Well known alumnae of the school include playwright Lillian HellmanLillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
and actresses Jean Stapleton and Isabel Sanford
Isabel Sanford
Isabel Sanford was an American actress best known for her role as Louise "Weezy" Jefferson on the CBS television sitcoms All in the Family and The Jeffersons .-Career:...
.