- Washington Irving High School (New York City)
Washington Irving High School is located in the lower part of the
New York City borough ofManhattan . The school is surrounded by the privateGramercy Park to the north, theStuyvesant Square to the east, and Union Square to the west, where students tend to linger after school.History
The school is named after writer
Washington Irving ("Bracebridge Hall ", "Tales of a Traveller "). The building in which the school is located was designed by thearchitect C.B.J. Snyder and built in1913 . The building itself stands eight stories high, though the extension is eleven stories high, which was designed by Walter C. Martin and built in1938 on 16th Street. Many people believe the school is located in a building built in1902 but that is not the case. Because the student population was growing at a rapid rate, a decision was made to move the school to another location. Land was purchased at 40 Irving Place. The school started out as a branch of Wadleigh High School. At first was known as Girls' Technical High School, the first school for girls in the city. In 1913 the name changed to Washington Irving. Many years later the school becameco-ed . Currently there are more than 2,000 students.tudent life
Morning routine
Each day students enter the building from 16th Street, swipe their
ID card s, and go throughmetal detector s while their belongings go through an X-ray scanner.Cell phone s,mp3 player s, and other electronic devices are currently banned.Interior & exterior
The school’s interior varies. The lobby’s walls are covered by wood panels and toward the ceiling are paintings from the history of New York. In the middle of the lobby there is a grand decorative
fireplace . The guests enter the building through the main door which is opposite the fireplace. Above the fireplace arestatue s of women curved from a single piece of white stone, however they are covered by theAmerican flag . 2nd floor and above the walls are white, doors are red, and floors are black. The exterior islimestone up to the 2nd story, then gray brick trimmed with limestone. On the corner of Irving Place and 17th Street is a small statue of Washington Irving's head by Friedrich Beer made in1935 , which is featured on the school's ID. The exterior was used in the TVsit-com "Head of the Class ". The school’sauditorium is located is the middle, between the left and the right wings. Usually accessed only from the lobby, but has seats on the 2nd level. There are many performances held at the auditorium, by students and by many artists.plit in two
As of
September 2008 , Washington Irving High School divided into 2 schools. One of them is still Washington Irving High School; the other is called Gramercy Arts High School.Notable Alumni
Claudette Colbert – ActressGertrude Berg – Actress, Screenwriter
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_and_Bella_Spewack Bella Spewack] – WriterExternal links
[http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/02/M460/default.htm Washington Irving High School] – "School’s website"
[http://insideschools.org/index12.php?fso=956 M460 – Washington Irving High School] – "Insideschools.org"
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