Wadleigh High School for Girls

The Wadleigh High School for Girls, which was established by the NYC Board of Education in 1897, and which moved into its new building in September 1902, was the first public high school for girls in New York City. At the time, public secondary education for girls was considered highly novel and perhaps a bit scandalous. Newspapers considered it newsworthy enough to devote many stories to describing classroom scenes of girls receiving “higher” education.

The school was named for Lydia Fowler Wadleigh (1817–1888), who was a pioneer in higher education for women. In 1856 she established the 12th Street Advanced School for Girls in the face of “bitter opposition,” according to The New York Times. Later in her career, she assisted Thomas Hunter in the creation and was the first “Lady Superintendent” of the New York Normal College, now known as Hunter College.

Located at 215 West 114th Street, the building was constructed during 1901-02 and opened for the 1902-03 school year. The total cost for the land, building, and equipment was $900,000. At the time of its construction, it was praised by The New York Times as “the finest high school building in the world.” Five stories tall, the building had such wonders of the times as electric elevators and central forced air ventilation. The architect of the school was C. B. J. Snyder, who, as Superintendent of School Buildings for New York City, was responsible for the design of most of the New York City public schools of the time, including such notable buildings as DeWitt Clinton High School and Erasmus Hall High School. The brick-and-limestone school, done in a French Renaissance style, featured an imposing tower, stained-glass windows, and a series of terra-cotta bas-relief shields with patriotic American motifs. In 1993 a renovation, costing $47 million, was completed. The following year, Wadleigh was designated a New York City Landmark.

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