Boys High School is a

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

-style public school building in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. It is regarded as "one of Brooklyn's finest buildings". The school is no longer in the building, as in 1975 it merged with Girls' High School to create the Boys and Girls High School on a new site.

Architecture

The

building is richly decorated in

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

somewhat in the style of

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...

. The building is admired for its round corner tower, dormers, and soaring

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

. The building was erected in 1891 on the west side of Marcy Avenue between Putnam Avenue and Madison Street. It was designed by James W. Naughton, Superintendent of Buildings for the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn.An architectural guidebook to Brooklyn, Francis Morrone, Photographs by James Iska, Gibbs Smith, 2001, p. 37. The building is regarded as Naughton's "finest work.""Walkabout with Montrose: Master of Schools, JW Naughton,"
September 8, 2009, Brownstoner. When Boys High was landmarked by the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...

in 1975, the commission called it "one of the finest Romanesque Revival style buildings in the city". It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on February 25, 1982. The building was the exterior filming location for the Knickerbocker Hospital in the television show '' The Knick''.

School

In 1975, the same year the building was landmarked, Boys High merged with Girls' High School to become Boys and Girls High School. Boys and Girls High School immediately moved to a new building at Fulton Street and

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

. The school was a college preparatory program with high academic standards. Congressman Emanuel Celler described Boys High in his autobiography, "I went to Boys' High School — naturally. I say "naturally" because Boys' High School then, as now, was the high school of scholarships. Boys of Brooklyn today will tell you, "It's a hard school." It was highly competitive..." Another Boys High graduate remembered that "I went to Boys High School in Brooklyn, a great school. It was out of the classic tradition. I guess eighty percent of the student body had to take Latin — we didn't have to; we elected Latin, because we felt it was expected of us."

Notable alumni

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

(1920–1992), author * John Barsha (born Abraham Barshofsky; 1898–1976), American professional football player * Jules Bender (1914–1982), collegiate and professional basketball player *

Cy Block Seymour "Cy" Block (May 4, 1919 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional baseball second baseman and third baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball during the 1942, 1945, and 1946 seasons. He played in the minor leagues ...

(1919–2004), professional baseball player *

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(1910–2010), producer of radio programs * Anatole Broyard (1920–1990), essayist, literary critic * Emanuel Celler (1888–1981), U.S. Representative for almost 50 years *

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

(1900–1990), classical composer, composition teacher, writer, and conductor *

Howard Cosell Howard William Cosell (; né Cohen; March 25, 1918 – April 23, 1995) was an American sports journalist, broadcaster and author. Cosell became prominent and influential during his tenure with ABC Sports from 1953 until 1985. Cosell was widel ...

(born Howard William Cohen, 1918–1995), television sports journalist * Mel Davis (born 1950), professional basketball player * Tommy Davis (born 1939), Major League Baseball player * I. A. L. Diamond (1920–1988), screenwriter * Martin Dobelle (1906–1986), orthopedic surgeon *

Hal Draper Hal Draper (born Harold Dubinsky; September 19, 1914 – January 26, 1990) was an American socialist activist and author who played a significant role in the Berkeley, California, Free Speech Movement. He is known for his extensive scholarship on ...

(born Harold Dubinsky, 1914–1990), socialist activist and author * Ted Draper (1912–2006), historian and political writer * Lee Farr (1927–2017), actor *

Leon Festinger Leon Festinger (8 May 1919 – 11 February 1989) was an American social psychologist who originated the theory of cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory. The rejection of the previously dominant behaviorist view of social psycholo ...

(1919–1989), social psychologist * Mickey Fisher (1904/05–1963), basketball coach *

Benjamin Graham Benjamin Graham (; Given name, né Grossbaum; May 9, 1894 – September 21, 1976) was a British-born American financial analyst, economist, accountant, investor and professor. He is widely known as the "father of value investing", and wrote two ...

(1894–1978), father of value investing * Al Goldstein (1936-2013), pornographer * Alfred Gottschalk (1930–2009), rabbi, leader in Reform Judaism movement * Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine (born 1941), lead singer of

The Imperials The Imperials is an American contemporary Christian music group that has been active for over 60 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There ...

* Sihugo "Si" Green (1933–1980), professional basketball player * Ezra E. H. Griffith (born 1942), psychiatrist * Daniel Gutman (1901-1993), lawyer, state senator, state assemblyman, president justice of the municipal court, and law school dean. *

Connie Hawkins Cornelius Lance "Connie" Hawkins (July 17, 1942 – October 6, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. A New York City playground legend, "the Hawk" was to play basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball, Iowa Hawkeyes but wa ...

(1942–2017), basketball Hall of Famer *

Will Herberg William Herberg (June 30, 1901 – March 26, 1977) was an American writer, intellectual, and scholar. A communist political activist during his early years, Herberg gained wider public recognition as a social philosopher and sociologist of relig ...

(1901–1977), political activist, philosopher, and author * Edward Everett Horton Jr. (1886 - 1970), character actor in film, television, radio, and theater * Gene Kelly (1918–1979), major league sportscaster * W. Langdon Kihn (1898–1957), portrait painter and illustrator *

Morris Kline Morris Kline (May 1, 1908 – June 10, 1992) was a professor of mathematics, a writer on the history, philosophy, and teaching of mathematics, and also a popularizer of mathematical subjects. Education and career Kline was born to a Jewish fami ...

(1908–1992), professor of mathematics * Joseph Isaac Kramer (1924–2021), doctor * Benjamin Lax (1915–2015), physicist elected to National Academy of Sciences * William Levitt (1907–1994), developer of

Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and thei ...

* Harry E. Lewis (1880–1948), lawyer, Brooklyn district attorney, New York Supreme Court Justice * Norman Lloyd (1914–2021), actor, director and producer *

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

(1923–2007), novelist, journalist, playwright, screenwriter, actor and film director * Mickey Marcus (1901–1948), US Army colonel who became Israel's first general * Ernest Martin (born 1932), theatre director and manager, actor *

Abraham Maslow Abraham Harold Maslow ( ; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actua ...

(1908–1970), professor of psychology * Will Maslow (1907–2007), lawyer and civil rights leader * Sean Michaels (born 1958), pornographic actor * Irving Mondschein (1924–2015), track and field champion * Jack Newfield (1938-2004), journalist *

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(born Emmanuel Radnitzky, 1890–1976), artist *

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

(1924–2007), jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer * E. Ivan Rubenstein (1895–1955), lawyer and judge * Meyer Schapiro (1904-1996), art historian * Aubrey Schenck (1908–1999), motion picture producer * Allie Sherman (1923–2015), National Football League player and head coach * Meier Steinbrink (1880–1967), lawyer and

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Justice *

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(1933–2019) Hall of Fame Track and Field Coach * Lawrence Tierney (1919-2002), movie actor * Solly Walker (1932-2017), first African American to play for St. John's University basketball team * Alexander S. Wiener (1907–1976), leader in fields of forensic medicine, serology, and immunogenetics *

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, fi ...

(born 1937), NBA player and coach; Hall of Fame player and coach *Wilson Brothers, musicians and founding members of

Mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is Sexual dimorphism, sexually ...

: Lou Wilson (1941-2013), Dr. Ric Wilson (born 1943), Carlos Wilson (born 1945), and Wilfredo Wilson (born 1947) * Izzy Yablok (1907–1983), football player

Distinguished faculty

* Mickey Fisher (1935-1962), Basketball coach made the Final Four every year from 1956 to 1962, coach of the Israeli Men's Olympic basketball team, Rome 1960. *James Sullivan (1873-1931), Principal (1907-1916), later Director of the YMCA for the American Expeditionary Forces, New York State Historian, and Director of Archives and History.

References

External links