Historic Districts Council Supports Landmarking of PS 199

See their letter of support here.

Coverage in the New York Observer

Preservationists Agitate to Save Durell Stone-Designed PS 199 From Demolition

By Kim Velsey 4/15 8:00pm

Ever since the Department of Education posted a Request for Expressions of Interest in three public school sites late this fall—seeking proposals for three “prime development sites” that included PS 199 on West 70th Street—the local community has risen up in protest.

As with other such sites, it’s almost certain that no matter what developer the city selects, the plan will involve a luxury condo tower on the 99,000 square-foot site with a replacement school on the tower’s lower levels.

And while DOE has not yet made any final decisions about the site, the possibility that the school might be razed has not only angered the contingent of parents and teachers that one would expect to be riled by such an announcement, but also preservationists, who are now mobilizing to protest the destruction of the 1963 building, designed by the noted modernist architect Edward Durell Stone.

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Help Landmark PS 199

Landmark West is work hard to save PS 199.  You can help by following the easy steps to send a postcard to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Committee. Click here to send an email "postcard" to Hon. Robert Tierney, Chair of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Committee (LPC) and urge the LPC to hold an emergency public hearing to designate P.S. 199 an official NYC Landmark. . It is especially urgent that Commission act now to save P.S. 199. Designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Edward Durell Stone in 1963, P.S. 199 is currently threatened with demolition by the Department of Education Construction Fund. Read coverage of this issue in the New York Times, West Side Rag, The Daily News and DNAInfo. SEND AN E-POSTCARD TODAY

Gale Brewer Writes Letter Urging Landmark Status for PS 199

See the full letter here.

The Architecture of PS199

Public School 199

270 West 70^th Street between Amsterdam and West End Avenue
Edward Durell Stone 1963

PS 199, officially named the Jesse Isador Straus School, stands stoutly at three stories high in the shadow of the Lincoln Towers Complex.  The school was built in a Title One redevelopment area, which included Lincoln Center and the Lincoln Towers.  The Board of Education commissioned well-known architect, Edward Durell Stone, to design PS 199.  Stone’s first major commission was in 1937 for the Museum of Modern Art, which he designed with Philip L. Goodwin.  

Then, beginning in the 1950s, Stone’s architectural aesthetic changed.  In a “move toward elegance,” Stone broke with the International Style and started designing sleek buildings with classical aspects.  The U.S. embassy in New Delhi was Stone’s first major work after this transformation and it is one of his most intricate and memorable designs.  PS 199, although not quite as elaborate as the embassy, is representative of Stone’s new aesthetic.  The school’s 166 thin, glazed white brick piers are faithful to Stone’s love of repetitive columns and are evocative of a grand colonnade.  

Classical patterning is illustrated in the concentric squares inscribed beneath the roof’s overhang.  Keeping in mind that people would be looking down at the top of the school from the surrounding apartment buildings, Stone tried to make the roof clean and aesthetically pleasing.  He cut out the center of the roof creating an open-air play space on the third floor of the school.  The building’s materials are simple: brick, glass, and metal.  However, the combination of shiny glass, dark brick, and white glazed piers create a striking contrast.  PS 199 has undoubtedly increased in significance because of the fate of 2 Columbus Circle.  

Stone’s 1964 design for the Gallery of Modern Art at 2 Columbus Circle was radical and innovative for the time and unfortunately has been lost.  PS 199 continues the neoclassical spirit of Stone’s unique form of Modernism on the Upper West Side and should be preserved in its own right and in memory of 2 Columbus Circle. 

Thanks to Landmark West for providing this description. 

Historical Information on PS199

Thanks to Landmark West we have added newspaper clippings and historical information about PS199 and it's architectural significance to our document library.  You can find the documents under the 199 History and Landmark folder towards the bottom of our documents page.