Clockwise from top left: Westinghouse High School, Newtown High School, Patrick Henry Preparatory, and the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center (originally P.S. 160)

It’s back-to-school time for New York City students—full of possibility for them (and relief for some of their parents). Students bound for one of the many school buildings designed by Charles B. J. Snyder may overlook the details that make them artifacts of a time when schools were “temples” of learning.

SUPERSTRUCTURES has had the honor of working on various Snyder structures, including Westinghouse High School, Newtown High School, Patrick Henry Preparatory, The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center (originally P.S. 160), Haaren Hall (originally DeWitt Clinton High School), Curtis High School, The Augustus Saint-Gaudens Elementary School, P.S. 47, and The Gravesend School. We’re proud to contribute to the preservation of his architectural legacy, whether students take note of their gargoyles, Guastavino tiles, and Neo-gothic details or not.

As an architect, engineer, and New York City Superintendent of School Buildings from 1891-1923, Snyder left a legacy of hundreds of distinctive school buildings. He focused on improving the health and safety of students through enhanced fireproofing, increased daylighting, and an innovative “H” plan which encompassed courtyards for outdoor recreation.

One of his most notable is Westinghouse High School in Brooklyn, a 1908 masterpiece of English Collegiate Gothic style. Our exterior masonry and roof restoration was honored with a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award in 2018.

Other Snyder structures in our restoration portfolio include the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center (originally P.S. 160) and Newtown High School, for which Snyder designed an addition. Both projects also garnered Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards for SUPERSTRUCTURES’ work.

More recently, SUPERSTRUCTURES conducted a restoration of Patrick Henry Preparatory (P.S. 171), comprising flood elimination, facade repairs, and window and door work. This project was guided by an incredible 93 sheets of contract documents, attesting to the complexity of the task and the firm’s industry-leading attention to detail.

If students in Snyder buildings pause between classes to look, they may realize that the structure represents a golden age of educational architecture, when schools were major landmarks and civic centers. Well maintained, they can continue to be so today.