Morris High School 1110 Boston Road, The Bronx 1904 Founded in 1897 as Peter Cooper High School, the first co-educational high school in New York City, the building that today houses the Morris High School was built in 1902 and is considered to be one of architect C.B.J. Snyder’s masterpieces. Noteworthy is the school’s façade in the popular Collegiate Gothic Revival style which evokes the belief that education, ideals, and beauty should be equally available to all students regardless of their neighborhood. In one of the finest interiors of any New York City school, Morris High has an elaborate 800-seat auditorium featuring Tudor arches, stained glass windows, highly decorative Gothic elements, and a W.W. Kimball Co. pipe organ. The auditorium was restored in 1991 and today is known as Duncan Hall. Among her famous alumni is Armand Hammer (industrialist), Milton Berle (comedian), and General Colin Powell (former U.S. Secretary of State). In 1982, the school building along with the surrounding area was designated as the Morris High School Historic District and in 1983 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Erasmus Hall High School 899 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn 1904 Founded in 1786 as a private academy, Erasmus Hall High School became the first secondary school chartered by the State of New York and earned the nickname “mother of high schools.” With the rapid growth of Brooklyn’s population at the turn of the 20th Century, the need for a larger school was met by C.B.J Snyder’s design to build a series of Collegiate Gothic style buildings surrounding the original Federal-style building to form a quadrangle. These new buildings were built in phases as needed so that classes could continue uninterrupted in the older building. Both the Federal and Gothic buildings were landmarked by the City in 1966, and the original Academy building was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Since 2010, the Landmarks Conservancy, in cooperation with the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President, has been an active advocate for the preservation and revitalization of the original Academy building. Notable alumni include Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Neil Diamond, Bobby Fischer, and Barbra Streisand.

The Wadleigh High School for Girls 215-25 W. 114th Street, Harlem 1902 Hailed as “a triumph of architectural skill,” The Wadleigh High School for Girls was among the first public high schools built in New York City and the first high school for girls. Designed in the Colligate Gothic style by school architect C.B.J. Snyder, the impressive red brick and buff limestone structure boasts a 125-foot tower. Constructed at a total cost of $900,000 inclusive of furnishings and equipment, The Wadleigh’s 3,000 student capacity had 80 classrooms, 3 gymnasia and a 1,500-seat auditorium and was the first school building to have electric elevators. In February 1903, the New York Times described The Wadleigh as “the finest high school building in the world.” Notable alumnae include actresses Jean Stapleton and Isabel Sanford.

P.S. 9 (Livingston School) 466 West End Avenue (at 82nd Street), Manhattan 1894 C.B.J. Snyder’s design to replace an outdated, overcrowded, and decrepit building with a modern school building serves as an example of his early innovative designs for New York City public schools. Once the new building was completed, the New York Times lauded: “\[i]t is a model structure, well-appointed throughout, and is an ornament to the neighborhood, which in recent years has become one of the most fashionable sections of the city. The building is well warmed and is fitted with an automatic ventilating apparatus by means of which the whole structure is ventilated without opening a window.” P.S. 9 also was one of the first schools designed with a fifth floor to contain a gymnasium, a fully-equipped kitchen, a large library, and “rooms for clay modeling, etc.” The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 and today is the Mickey Mantle School (P.S. 811) serving students with special needs.

Old Stuyvesant High School 345 E. 15th Street, Manhattan 1907 Founded in 1904 and constructed between 1905 and 1907, the (former) Stuyvesant High School was one of the first high schools built after the creation of a citywide system of public secondary education. Designed by C.B.J. Snyder, the school’s innovative H-plan allowed more natural light and air into the classrooms than older designs. Featuring a distinctive façade in the Beaux-Arts style, the building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1997 and today is home to the Institute for Collaborative Education, the High School for Health Professions and Human Services and P.S. 226.

Flushing High School 35-01 Union Street, Flushing, Queens 1915 Founded in 1875, Flushing High School is the oldest public high school in New York City. Its distinctive Neo-Gothic style building, built of buff-colored brick, terra cotta, and granite was constructed between 1912 and 1915, with another wing added in 1954. The most dominant feature is the entrance: a five story, square central tower, which is an element closely associated with Gothic architecture. One of her most famous alumni is fictional character, Archie Bunker. It was designated as a New York City Landmark in 1991 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Newtown High School 48-01 90th Street, Elmhurst, Queens 1920 Founded in 1897, Newtown High School has been serving the Elmhurst community for more than 115 years. Designed in 1917 by C.B.J. Snyder in the Flemish Renaissance Revival style, construction was delayed until 1920 on this building that features a monumental centrally-placed 169-foot tower topped by a cupola and turrets, along with stepped gables. Snyder’s choice of the Flemish Renaissance Revival style may be a nod to New York City’s early days as a Dutch colony. Notable alumni include Estee Lauder (cosmetics company founder) and Gene Simmons (member of “KISS”). Newtown was designated a New York City Landmark in 2003.

Curtis High School Hamilton Avenue & St. Mark’s Place, Staten Island 1904 As part of a plan to build a high school in each of the outlaying boroughs, Curtis High School was designed by C.B.J Snyder and built between 1902 and 1904. As the first high school on Staten Island, it is named in honor of prominent writer George W. Curtis, who settled on Staten Island circa 1850. The building is of buff colored brick, terra cotta, and limestone and its center square tower is an impressive example of neo-Gothic architecture. A notable alumnus is Amy Vanderbilt, author of the bests selling Complete Book of Etiquette (1952). Curtis High School was designated a New York City Landmark in 1982.

P.S. 157, The Benjamin Franklin 850 Kent Avenue, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn 1909 Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, architect C.B.J. Snyder’s goal was to build a world-class public school system for New York City. Constructed in 1909, P.S. 157, an “H” design pioneered by Snyder, is a fine example of the Colligate Gothic style of architecture reminiscent of the classical architecture of Oxford, Bryn Mawr, and Princeton. The building’s parapets are accentuated with 40 terracotta owls, representing “wisdom.”