DeWitt Mall (former Ithaca High School)
Date built: 1912Architect: William H. MillerThe first Ithaca High School on this site was destroyed by a fire in 1912. Local architect William H. Miller designed the present building in the popular Collegiate Gothic style and it was completed in 1914. The four-story brick and stone building was meant to evoke the style of medieval university buildings in England with projecting towers and crenellations on the roofline. In 1960 Ithaca High School relocated to its present location and the building was used as the DeWitt Junior High School for a decade. The Ithaca City School District considered demolishing the building, but it was sold to local architect William Downing Jr. in 1971. It was adaptively reused to house a mall of shops and restaurants, with offices and residences above and the nationally-known Moosewood Restaurant on the ground floor. The building is now part of the local and National Register DeWitt Park Historic District.Explore building records and maps for 215 North Cayuga Street throughout the twentieth century on the HistoryForge Ithaca database: https://www.historyforge.net/buildings/17Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections, circa 1920: V20-153LISTEN HERE
Beverly J. Martin Elementary School (formerly Boynton Junior High)
Date built: 1931Architect: Arthur N. GibbNow known as Beverly J. Martin Elementary School, the school served earlier as Boynton Junior High School and was erected in 1931 in a simplified Collegiate Gothic style. Located in a residential area near downtown Ithaca, it was designed by Arthur N. Gibb, who also designed the Henry St. John, Fall Creek, and West Hill elementary schools. In 1972 Boynton Junior High School moved to a new building on Lake Street and the building on W. Buffalo Street became Central Elementary School. In 1992 the school was renamed in honor of Beverly J. Martin, a principal and former student of Central Elementary.Explore building records and maps for 302 W. Buffalo St throughout the twentieth century on the HistoryForge Ithaca database: https://www.historyforge.net/buildings/1415.Early 20th century. GPF V20.72. Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections: V20-68LISTEN HERE
Hayt’s Chapel and Schoolhouse
Built in the 1830s as a schoolhouse, renovated in 1847 to become a chapel.The single-story, Greek Revival-style schoolhouse has a T-shaped floorplan. Both the wood frame schoolhouse and the small Gothic Revival-style chapel were built on land donated by Charles Hayt, a landowner, religious leader, and abolitionist who was one of the early settlers of West Hill. This one-room schoolhouse is typical of the many small schools built across the state in the 1830s and 1840s. It served as a school until 1964. Both buildings are listed on the New York State and National Registers.Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections: V20.62LISTEN HERE
School No. 22/Schoolhouse No. 6 (Also known as the Kline Schoolhouse)
Originally school house section post-1823 and pre-1853School District No. 22 was formed in Cayuga Heights in 1823. A schoolhouse was built at the intersection of Hanshaw and Pleasant Grove Roads (formerly Kline) and was known locally as the Kline Schoolhouse and designated on maps as Schoolhouse No. 6. The property was sold in 1941 and altered to be used as a residence until it was sold in the 1970s, when it was then used as a dental office. The old doors—one for boys and one for girls—can be seen on either side of the exterior chimney, evidence of its former life as a school.2021. V20. Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections. LISTEN HERE
Field School House (originally District #15 schoolhouse)
29 Auburn Road rear parking area beside the Lansing Town Hall, LansingDate built: c.1830s-1840sOriginally located on Peruville Road, this clapboard one-room schoolhouse dates to around the 1830s or 1840s. It served pupils from grades one through eight until 1948. The building was moved to its present site and is now used to educate schoolchildren and visitors about typical school life in the 19th century.2021. V20-305. Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County. LISTEN HERE
Groton Main Street High School
Date built: 1919-20Architect: Carl W. ClarkThis building was constructed in 1919-1920 in a stripped-down neoclassical style to serve students above the seventh grade. Its plan and program followed the popular “factory for learning” concept at the time, which sorted students by age into separate classroom spaces linked by central hallways. Because the school was built on the site of a memorial board of veterans' names, an American Legion room was included in the new school along with a large gymnasium. As the school population expanded, these spaces were eventually taken over for school use. In 1954, the school became an elementary school. It was later sold in the 1960s and had several other uses before being adaptively reused as an apartment building for seniors. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.2021. V20-304. Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections. LISTEN HERE
Eight Square Schoolhouse
Date built: c.1827This one-room brick school is a good example and important survivor of the octagonal form schoolhouse that was popular in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and parts of Pennsylvania from the 1770s through the 1830s. The teacher’s desk was placed at the center of the single room and the students’ desks were arranged around it. This building was used as a school until 1945 and was later acquired by the DeWitt Historical Society, now The History Center in Tompkins County. It is now used for living history education for young children and is listed on the National Register.Learn more: thehistorycenter.net/Eight-Squareca. 1890s. Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections: V20.201. LISTEN HERE
Freeville Elementary School
Date built: 1936-37 with addition in 1949Architect: Carl W. ClarkSet back from the main road by a grassy lawn, this red brick grade school’s design was inspired by the Colonial Revival style and was built as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project to serve the small community of Freeville. An old wooden school building that once sat across the street educated the village’s students before this building was erected. The handsome Palladian arch entrance in the middle of the main façade distinguishes this single-story school. Arched windows and flanking wings with blind arches with stone medallions extend out from the central entrance. The school is part of the Dryden Central School District and is still in use today as an elementary school.2021. GPF V20.303. Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections. LISTEN HERE
Forest Home School (now Lewis Building, Cornell Botanic Gardens)
Date built: c. 1921This rectangular two-story school building with a hipped roof and stucco exterior walls was the Forest Home School for over forty years. Erected in 1921, its classrooms and gymnasium served the growing hamlet of Forest Home. The school was built on land leased by Cornell University to the school district. Forest Home School closed in 1964 and the school became an administrative building for the Cornell Botanic Gardens. The school’s gravel yard became the Robison Herb Garden and the surrounding area has been planted for visitors to enjoy. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections: V20-287LISTEN HERE
Old East Hill School
Date built: 1881Architects: William H. Miller and Edward GreenBuilt on an old quarry site, this red brick school was constructed to address the needs of the East Hill neighborhood, which grew and developed in the decades following the opening of Cornell University. Originally built as a two-story building with stone trim and black ornamental courses, the school also had a tall tower (now truncated in size). Large windows allowed the original classrooms to be flooded with light while providing views out to the streets and commercial core of Ithaca down the hill. The school expanded several times in 1906, 1915, and 1919, and a more modern wing was added to the south in 1955-56. The school was closed in 1976 and subsequently converted into apartments. It is part of the East Hill Historic District, a local and National Register Historic District.Explore census and building records from the twentieth century for 111 Stewart Ave on the Ithaca HistoryForge database: https://www.historyforge.net/buildings/2169Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections: V20-208LISTEN HERE
Old South Hill School
110 Columbia Street, IthacaDate built: 1907Architect: Clinton VivianIn 1907 the cornerstone was laid for the red brick school. Built to serve 149 children, this Colonial Revival school was designed so each room is well lit by multiple windows. The entrance is distinguished by paired Tuscan columns, and the hipped roof has an octagonal cupola. In 1916 new classrooms were added on the northeast side by architect Clinton Vivian. Until 1955 it had six classrooms (two of which were large halls) and six teachers. The new South Hill School on Hudson Street started construction in 1955 and opened in 1956 to accommodate the growing population. In 1978 and 1979 the old South Hill School building was converted into apartments now called Acropolis Cooperative. It stands today as a good example of adaptive reuse, housing six co-op units, and is a locally designated as a landmark in Ithaca.Early 20th century. Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections: V20-289aLISTEN HERE
Henry St. John School
Date built: 1925Architect: Arthur N. GibbDesigned in the popular Collegiate Gothic style, this red brick and cast-concrete school’s main entrance faces S. Geneva Street and sits in a mainly residential area bordering on the downtown. The school, now an office and apartment building, was part of a modernizing wave of elementary school construction in the 1920s and 1930s responding to population growth in the community. The substantial Bloodgood home formerly stood on the site. The school was designed with a large and expansive basement area to provide adequate ventilation and accommodate various utilities. Classrooms and a combination gymnasium and auditorium originally filled the two floors above the basement. The school was named for Henry St. John, Ithaca’s first Superintendent of Public Works, third Mayor, and longtime school board member who advocated for the construction of new schools. Henry St. John was born in Ithaca and passed away one month before the dedication of his namesake school.Learn more about the Henry St. John building through the 'Henry St. John District Historic Walking Tour' on PocketSights. Image courtesy of The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections: V20-67LISTEN HERE
