Some time back, we took a look at the inventory of Albany schools as they stood in 1922, along with some pictures of the ones that still stood in 2013. We’ve just found a guide to Albany schools from 1894 that provides pictures along with more detailed information about each school that was in the system that Albany was very proud of at the time. (Particularly proud of the ventilation, in fact.)
The first school in the guide was School No. 1. It was built in 1889 (the work of architect Franklin Janes, who also built 1 Englewood Place), had 13 school rooms, and still stands today, and it still says “Public School Number One” on the portal. The crenellations, sadly, have not survived.
School No. 2 was at 29 Chestnut Street, another lovely example of the work of architect Albert W. Fuller, who built the YMCA building and a whole lot more. It dated to 1884, when it cost a whopping $30,000. Not sure at all where it was located, but we are sure it’s gone.
School No. 3 is one of the few schools that probably looks nicer today than it did back when it was built in 1887. The entryway, gotta say, looks like an afterthought. It’s currently the Henry Johnson Charter School.
School No. 4 was the work of Edward Ogden & Son, prominent architects in Albany at the time it was built, 1892. It stood on Madison and Ontario, but by the time of the 1922 guide, it was listed as having burned. We previously said that once a school is burned its number is retired, but in fact another School No. 4 was built in its place, across from Vincentian Institute, which remained until a roof collapse around 1968.
School No. 5, at 206 N. Pearl Street, was built in 1882 and still stands as the Quackenbush Condominiums. So one just has to wonder at why it wasn’t included in the book. But it wasn’t. Perhaps a mere oversight, but a fairly significant one.
School No. 6, at 105 Second Street, was an imposing work of Fuller & Wheeler built in 1893. In the heart of Arbor Hill, the neighborhood is oddly unrecognizable today, having lost so many of its old structures, including this lovely building.
School No. 7, from 1886, still stands at 165 Clinton Avenue, where it is the home of New Covenant Christian Fellowship. Architect Ernest Hoffman also designed a nicer looking townhouse at 333 State Street.
School No. 8, from 1881, was also the work of Franklin Janes. It’s, well, interesting. It is long gone, just a parking lot today.
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