Girls High School is a historically and architecturally notable public secondary school building located at 475

Nostrand Avenue South end in Sheepshead Bay Nostrand Avenue () is a major street in Brooklyn, New York, that runs for north from Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay to Flushing Avenue in Williamsburg, where it continues as Lee Avenue. It occupies the position o ...

in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was built in 1886.''Brooklyn: a soup-to-nuts guide,'' Ellen Freudenheim, Macmillan, 1999, p. 31."19th Century,"
NYC Department of Education.

Building

The building was designed by James W. Naughton, Superintendent of Buildings for the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn."19th Century,"
NYC Department of Education. It is regarded as a "masterpiece" of Victorian Gothic style, blending

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

and

French Second Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s a ...

styles, the Second Empire influence is visible in the mansard roof, the Gothic influence in the

pointed arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown, whose two curving sides meet at a relatively sharp angle at the top of the arch. This architectural element was particularly important in Gothic architecture. The earlie ...

windows."Walkabout with Montrose: Master of Schools, JW Naughton,"
September 8, 2009, Brownstoner. The building, which was intended to house the boys and girls high schools in two separate wings, features two pavilions built around a central entrance that rises into a bell tower."Brooklyn: a state of mind," Michael W. Robbins, Wendy Palitz, Workman Publishing, 2001, p. 228. By the time the school opened, enrollment had increased to the point where it was decided to use this building for the girls and build a separate Boys High School. In 1975 the school merged with Brooklyn

Boys High School Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

and moved to a new building at Fulton Street and

Utica Avenue Utica Avenue is a major avenue in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. It is one of several named for the city of Utica in Upstate New York. It runs north–south and occupies the position of East 50th Street in the Brooklyn street ...

as the

Boys and Girls High School Boys and Girls High School, the oldest public high school in Brooklyn, is a comprehensive high school in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, United States. The school is located at 1700 Fulton Street. As of the 2014–15 school year, the ...

."Boys High School And Historic Dock Made Landmarks; Boys High And a Dock Are Cited, Joseph P. Fried,October 5, 1975, New York Times. The building is a designated

New York City landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

Reputation

According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', in 1895, it was "the ambition of every Brooklyn girl... to enter the Girls High School where she may enjoy the advantages of an advanced education and be prepared for college.""A Model High School; Fame of the One for Brooklyn Girls Widespread. High Honors for its Graduates: The Building Carefully Equipped — Instructors of Large Experience — A Handsome Assembly Hall", April 7, 1895, ''New York Times'' The girls were offered courses in Latin, Greek, German, French, botany, zoology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, physiology, psychology, algebra, geometry, calculus; ancient, medieval and modern history; economics, and classes in the "literary masterpieces, both American and English." The article featured a large, detailed drawing of the building which was described as being "one of the finest, from an architectural point of view, in the country, and it is said not to be excelled for completeness of appointments anywhere. the Mayor called it "the foremost institution of its kind in the world," and the Times asserted that "representatives of secondary schools in other cities of this country and in Europe... concurred" with the Mayor in that opinion. Congresswoman

Shirley Chisholm Shirley Anita Chisholm ( ; ; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional distr ...

, who entered in the fall of 1939, remembered that students came to Girls' High from all parts of Brooklyn because the school was so "highly regarded." In her time, the school was "all girls, about half of them were white, but the neighborhood by now was nearly all black."''Unbought and Unbossed: Expanded 40th Anniversary Edition, Shirley Chisholm, Take Root Media, 2010, p. 38.

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

attended the "integrated" and "highly prestigious" high school a few years before Chisholm.

Notable alumnae

Gwendolyn B. Bennett Gwendolyn B. Bennett (July 8, 1902 – May 30, 1981) was an American artist, writer, and journalist who contributed to '' Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life'', which chronicled cultural advancements during the Harlem Renaissance. Though often ...

(1902–1981), artist, writer and journalist who was the school's first African-American attendee. *

Carol Bruce Carol Bruce (born Shirley Levy; November 15, 1919 – October 9, 2007) was an American band singer, Broadway star, and film and television actress. Early years Bruce was born Shirley Levy in a Jewish family, in Manhattan, to Beatrice and Harr ...

(1919–2007), singer and actress *

(1924–2005, class of 1942), congresswoman. *

(1917–2010), singer and actress *

Martha Lorber Martha Caroline Theresa Lorber (June 11, 1900 – July 2, 1983) was an American dancer, actress, singer, model, and Ziegfeld Girl. Early life Martha Caroline Theresa Lorber was born in New York City, to Frederick, a waiter, and Marie Lorber (n� ...

(1900–1983), dancer, actress, model *

Paule Marshall Paule Marshall (April 9, 1929 – August 12, 2019) was an American writer, best known for her 1959 debut novel '' Brown Girl, Brownstones''. In 1992, at the age of 63, Marshall was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant. Life and career Marshall wa ...

(1929–2019), novelist *

Jean Nidetch Jean Evelyn Nidetch (née Slutsky, October 12, 1923 – April 29, 2015) was an American business entrepreneur who was the founder of the Weight Watchers organization. Early life Jean Nidetch was born on October 12, 1923 in the New York City boro ...

(1923–2015), founder of Weight Watchers *

Laura Riding Laura Riding Jackson (born Laura Reichenthal; January 16, 1901 – September 2, 1991), best known as Laura Riding, was an American poet, critic, novelist, essayist and short story writer. Early life She was born in New York City to Nathan ...

(1901–1991), poet *

Roxie Roker Roxie Albertha Roker (August 28, 1929 – December 2, 1995) was an American actress who portrayed Helen Willis on the CBS sitcom ''The Jeffersons'' (1975–1985), half of the first interracial couple to be shown on regular prime time televisio ...

(1929–1995), actress and mother of

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...

Betty Smith Betty Smith (born Elisabeth Lillian Wehner; December 15, 1896 – January 17, 1972) was an American playwright and novelist, who wrote the 1943 bestseller '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn''. Early years Smith was born Elisabeth Lillian Wehner on Dec ...

(1896–1972), author of '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'' *

Lilyan Tashman Lilyan Tashman (October 23, 1896 – March 21, 1934) was an American actress. Tashman was best known for her supporting roles as tongue-in-cheek villainesses or playing the vindictive "other woman". She made 66 films over the course of her ...

(1896–1934), actress * Shirley Zussman (1914-2021), sex therapist."Obituary: Shirley Zussman"
Dignity Memorial. Accessed January 3, 2022. "Her family soon moved to Brooklyn where Shirley lived until graduating high school at Girl’s High."

References

{{authority control Defunct schools in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in Brooklyn School buildings completed in 1886 Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Public high schools in Brooklyn Defunct high schools in Brooklyn