Public School 73

251 MacDougal Street | also 245 Sumpter Street | Ocean Hill | built 1895

Open on the map4 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. 1879

    James W. Naughton becomes the Board of Education's superintendent of buildings, later designing P.S. 73

    James W. Naughton, the architect of P.S. 73, took over as Superintendent of Buildings for the Brooklyn Board of Education in 1879, succeeding Samuel B. Leonard. He held the post for almost twenty years, until he died in 1898. The Landmarks Preservation Commission says every school built in Brooklyn in that period came from his office.

    “…remained in that position for nearly twenty years until his death in 1898. All the schools built in Brooklyn during this period were designed by Naughton.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1888

    Brooklyn builds Public School 73 near its eastern edge to serve a fast-growing neighborhood

    Work began in 1888 on Public School 73 at Rockaway Avenue and MacDougal Street, close to what was then Brooklyn's eastern city line beside the Town of New Lots. Elevated railways and streetcars had recently linked the area with downtown and the ferries, which fueled real estate development and a jump in the number of school-age children. The school was put up to meet that demand.

    “Public School 73 was erected to meet the needs of this population.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1895

    An eastern extension repeats the 1888 school's three tiers of arched windows

    In 1895 a wing was added to the east of P.S. 73, seven years after the original section. It matches the first part in height, materials and style, with a recessed four-bay center between end pavilions. The windows of the school form long arcades on three floors, each floor with its own arch type: round, segmental and ogee.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1984

    September 11

    The city designates Public School 73 a landmark

    The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Public School 73 as a New York City landmark on September 11, 1984, along with its landmark site. At the public hearing on April 13, 1982, one person spoke in favor of designation and nobody spoke against it. The commission called the school an excellent example of 19th-century school architecture.

    “Designation List 171, September 11, 1984 ... One person spoke in favor of designation. There were no speakers in opposition…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Nearby

All 2 buildings with stories in Ocean Hill