Pratt Institute Main Building

207 Ryerson Street | also 255 Ryerson Street | Clinton Hill | built 1975

Open on the map7 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1885

    Lamb & Rich build the Romanesque Revival Main Building as the institute's first campus building

    Built in 1885-87 and first known as the Art and Industrial Building, the Main Building was the first on campus and originally held all of the institute's programs. The architects, Lamb & Rich of New York, gave it six stories of red brick, corner towers with small bartizans and a central clock tower. A projecting brownstone portico shelters the entrance, reached by a double staircase.

    “The Main Building, formerly known as the Art and Industrial Building, was constructed in 1885-87. As the first campus building, it originally housed all the institute programs…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1887

    May

    The state grants Charles Pratt a charter for his new institute in Clinton Hill

    Charles Pratt, the oil magnate whose companies merged with Rockefeller's in 1874, wanted to give working people a chance at an education he never had himself. He bought land near his Clinton Avenue home in 1884, and in May 1887 the New York State Legislature granted him the charter to open Pratt Institute. The school was set up only two blocks from his residence.

    “In May 1887, the New York State Legislature granted Charles Pratt a charter to open the school.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 1887

    October 17

    Pratt Institute opens with a drawing class of twelve students

    The institute began on October 17, 1887, with a drawing class of just twelve students. That class grew into the Art Department, and other departments followed: museums, women's domestic arts and science, mechanic arts, music, commerce, a high school, a kindergarten program and a library school. At the time of the 1981 landmark report, the school had about 4,000 students in residence and more than 30,000 alumni.

    “Pratt Institute opened on October 17, 1887, with a drawing class of twelve students. The drawing class led to the development of the Art Department.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1889

    South Hall is added beside the Main Building for the Pratt high school

    William B. Tubby designed South Hall for the Pratt Institute High School, and it went up in 1889-91. A one-story brick section links it to the Main Building. The high school closed in 1905, once public high schools had taken up manual training.

    “The attached South Hall, built in 1889-91 to house the Pratt Institute High School, was designed by William B. Tubby.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  5. 1926

    Memorial Hall goes up north of the Main Building in memory of Mary Richardson Pratt

    Built in 1926-27 as an assembly hall, Memorial Hall is a memorial to Mary Richardson Pratt, Charles Pratt's second wife. Its architect was John Mead Howells, who had won the Chicago Tribune Tower competition in 1922 together with Raymond Hood. His neo-Romanesque design harmonizes with the older buildings.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  6. 1981

    December 22

    The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the Main Building with South and Memorial Halls

    After a hearing on October 9, 1979, at which three witnesses spoke in favor and none against, the commission designated the Main Building together with its attached South Hall and Memorial Hall on December 22, 1981. It called the three buildings, by three architectural firms, a harmonious unit, and the most tangible symbol of the technical school Charles Pratt founded.

    “…the Pratt Institute Main Building with attached South Hall and Memorial Hall is the focal point of the Pratt Institute campus…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  7. 2013

    February

    A fire burns through the Main Building's top floors and destroys students' work

    In February 2013 a fire ran through the upper floors of the Main Building, the six-story Romanesque Revival hall that holds administrative offices, classrooms and art studios. It destroyed much of the interior structure along with student work.

    “In February 2013, a fire throughout the top floors destroyed much of the interior structure and students' work.”

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 13 buildings with stories in Clinton Hill