Discovering Legendary NYC Schools’ Architect Charles B. J. Snyder

Charles B. J. Snyder oversaw or signed off on hundreds of schools and additions across the five boroughs in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

DeWitt High School was the largest high school in the nation when it was built in 1906, with 78 classrooms, an auditorium, two gyms, four study halls, and 14 laboratories for 3,700 students. It is now the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, seen in Manhattan on Sept. 5. Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times

NEW YORK—Charles B. J. Snyder oversaw or signed off on hundreds of schools and additions across the five boroughs in the late 1800s and early 1900s, marking a new era where youth learned in better and healthier buildings.

The city’s Department of Education puts the number of schools built by Snyder at close to 350, and the Landmarks Commission puts it at more than 170.

Jean Arrington, writer, editor, and Snyder enthusiast, counts 408 schools, 281 still standing, and 235 still standing as public schools.

Others are now private schools, health facilities, and condos, among other uses, as well as one church, and a funky hotel, Arrington said Tuesday evening—the hotel mention evoking laughter from the crowd.