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The History of Public School 59

An image of PS 59 and surrounding buildings, Winter 2025

Introduction

Hello and welcome to The History of Public School 59. This webpage serves as a historical record for the school that would eventually become PS 59 Beekman Hill International School. While this history is not comprehensive, it strives to provide an accurate record of New York City’s finest elementary school. Various primary and secondary historical sources have been used to compile a timeline of the three distinct periods of our school’s history, including newspaper articles, webpage archives, and the New York Public Library.

 

Thank you for you interest, and we sincerely hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane in The History of Public School 59.

An image of the old PS 59 school building in 1908

Part One:
Humble Beginnings

1872 - 1956

An image of an information note card denoting the foundation of PS 59, faded in background

4 November 1872

Foundation

Manhattan Public School 59 is officially incorporated on 4 November 1872.

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The original site location, which opened onto East 57th Street, was purchased in 1868. The original school building was constructed for the sum total of $82,361, or approximately $2,130,618 in 2025 dollars.

An image of an information note card denoting the foundation of PS 59
An image of the old PS 59 school building in 1908, faded in as the section background
An image of the old PS 59 school building in 1908

1908

Photographic Record

The first known extant photograph of the original Public School 59 building on East 57th Street is taken.

A portrait of Louisa Lee Schuyler, faded in as the section background

22 March 1916

School Name

Public School 59 is given the moniker The Louisa Lee Schulyer School, named after the prominent New York figure known for her charitable work and the founding of the first school for nursing students in the United States. She was also the great-granddaughter of Alexander Hamilton!

A portrait of Louisa Lee Schuyler
An archival scan of a New York Tribune newspaper, faded in as the section background
An archival scan of a New York Tribune newspaper

13 May 1918

News Media

Throughout the Great War and the interwar period, written accounts of Public School 59 begin appearing in print circulation. This article describes how the former "corner cop" of Public School 59, Thomas F. Dugan, received a care package while fighting for the US Navy, which coincidentally originated from students at his prior post.

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Former Public School 59 student Eva Kenedy said of Dugan, "I remember once he pulled a little girl out from in front of a street car."

A lot tax photograph of the original PS 59 building, faded in as the section background

Winter of 1939/1940

Photographic Record

A lot-tax photograph of the original Public School 59 building on East 57th Street in either late 1939 or early 1940. The camera is pointed roughly southward.

 

Note the removal of the adjoining building in the time between the 1908 and 1939/40 photographs, as well as the replacement of the original gas street lamp with a new ‘bishop’s crook’-style electric street light.

A lot tax photograph of the original PS 59 building
An abstract drawing done by a PS 59 student, faded in as the section background

1947 - 1950

Biographic Record

It is from this period where we receive our first written account of what it was like to attend school at Public School 59:

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This is the old PS 59 where I started in the last few weeks of the 2nd grade (only knowing a few words in English) after we arrived in New York from Norway in 1947.  My 3rd grade teacher was Mrs. Grant, 4th grade was Miss Flynn, 5th grade was Mrs. Greenwald, and then we moved to Queens.  We had wood shop, cooking classes where we learnt how to make our own breakfasts with French toast, hot cereal, and pancakes, and I remember there [sic] blind and deaf children there taking their own classes.  I learned English very fast.

 

There was a separate entrance for the boys and the girls, and we waited outside in line until the doors were opened.  All seats were fixed on rows.  In 4th grade we had ink in the desk inkwells and practiced with quill pens.  

 

One day all the pupils were outside on the sidewalk waving and cheering as the motorcade of President Harry S. Truman, who was in an open car, drove by up towards 3rd Avenue which still had the elevated train.

 

We had many air drills against A-bomb attacks where we crouched under our desks or in the hallways.

 

When going to the bathroom, we had to take a blackboard eraser with us.

 

-Lars Aanning

Grammar school student at PS 59 (1947-1950)

A scanned city engineering map showing PS 59 and the surrounding area, faded in background

1955

Neighborhood Map

This map, created by civil engineering firm G.W. Bromley & Co. for the City of New York, shows the surrounding neighborhood of Public School 59 as it appeared in the years before the original school building’s demolition.

 

Note the abundance of old law ‘dumbell’ tenements constructed between 1879 and 1901, the plentiful amount of garages, and defunct businesses like Woolworths, Knickerbocker Ice Co., and N.Y. Telephone Co.. The 1955-1956 school year also marks the final days of the original Public School 59 building.

A scanned city engineering map showing PS 59 and the surrounding area
An image of the second PS 59 building

Part Two:
Midcentury Refresh

1958 - 2011

An information notecard denoting the reconsecration of PS 59, faded in as the section background
An information notecard denoting the reconsecration of PS 59

1958 - 1959

New Building, Name

1958 marks the first school year of the second PS 59 school building.

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In 1959, Public School 59 would be redesignated as ‘The Beekman Hill School’, named after the nearby historical Beekman family’s estate.

An image of the second PS 59 building, faded in as the section background

1980

Photographic Record

The intersection of East 57th Street and Second Avenue in 1980, looking roughly southward. PS 59 is the smaller building to the right of the photograph; the large seven storey building in the foreground is the old High School of Art and Design campus.

 

This is the oldest known archival imagery of the second Public School 59 building, taken as part of New York City's 1980 lot-tax photographic survey.

An image of the second PS 59 building
A screenshot of the original PS 59 website, faded in as the section background
A screenshot of the original PS 59 website

13 February 2005

Digital Record

The first digital presence of ps59.net as preserved by The Internet Archive in early 2005.

 

From this point onward, PS 59 is officially in the digital age!

The school newsletter interviewing the principal, faded in background

December 2007

School News

Former PS 59 Principal Adele Schroeter (2002-2023) provides an interview in late 2007 to the since-defunct school newsletter regarding the relocation of PS 59. It should be noted that the timeline for moving into the new (current) building was ultimately delayed until school year 2012-2013.

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[Interviewers] - What will the new building look like?

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Mrs. S. - Here is some thing [sic] that will be different. When we walk into the school, it won't be on 57th st anymore, it will be on 56th st. There will be a lot of glass in the front with great big windows. [...] Whenever they build new schools they put in artist installations. Sometimes they do mosaics on the wall or special tile borders. Students will get to participate in that.

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[Interviewers] - What will the new school be called[?] Will it be ps59 too?

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Mrs. S. - It is an interesting idea that people call things new names when big changes happen. We will probably use The International School, but I have not thought about it.

The school newsletter interviewing the principal about the new PS 59 building
The final days of the mid-century PS 59 building, faded in as the section background
The final days of the mid-century PS 59 building

Summer 2008

Photographic Record

One of the final pictures of the second PS 59 building as captured by Google StreetView shortly before demolition.

 

For the 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012 school years, PS 59 was relocated to the site of the former Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital on East 67th Street, which is now the site of PS 267.

A screenshot of the second major website design, faded in as the section background

30 December 2010

Digital Record

The ps59.net webpage has been changed, updated, and completely overhauled numerous times in the past. This version of the site from 2010 reflects what students, parents, and staff would have seen while PS 59 was operating out of the temporary East 63rd Street building.

A screenshot of the second major website design
An image showing the modern PS 59 building mid-construction, faded in as the section background
An image showing the modern PS 59 building mid-construction

July 2011

Photographic Record

From the summer of 2011, this image shows the new PS 59/P 169/HS A&D campus less than a year from completion, and slightly more than a year before students would return to the original site of Public School 59, albeit with the entrance swapped to East 56th Street.

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The temporary loading dock/carport at the bottom left of the image would eventually be turned into the gated entryway to PS 59.

A picture of the modern PS 59 building

Part Three:
Modernity

2012 - Present

The mural present at the entrance to PS 59, faded in as the section background

September 2012

Artwork

The iconic yellow mural is the first thing that visitors, students, and staff alike see upon entering the gates of the new PS 59 building. A collaborative effort between students, artists, and staff, this unique work expresses the joy, diversity, and success embodied in every aspect of our community.

The mural present at the entrance to PS 59
Another website redesign from 2016, faded in as the section background
Another website redesign from 2016

19 March 2016

Digital Record

It’s 2016 and time for another new site redesign!

A close-up shot of a chocolate bar, faded in as the section background

8 November 2016

Newsreel Footage

PS 59 once again flirts with presidential history, as it was the polling place for then-candidate Trump during the 2016 general election. The linked video from the New York Times chronicles the event from the basement gymnasium where Donald, Ivana, and Melania Trump all voted, to the harsh rebukes of locals waiting outside for their turn at the polls.

 

Despite winning this election, the then-future president would lose his hometown of New York City by a margin of 61 percent.

A picture of the modern PS 59 building, faded in as the section background
A picture of the modern PS 59 building

Present Day

Photographic Record

The winding history of Public School 59 does not come to an end here. Rather, the way leads open to countless opportunities and possibilities for everyone who is a part of the PS 59 family.

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Comprised not solely of a building, nor inkwells, desks, or computers, the history of Manhattan's Public School 59 is the story of the community that empowers the next generation of international citizens.

The mural present at the entrance to PS 59

Not

The End.

Works Cited

Annual Financial and Statistical Report. “Public School 59.” Municipal Archives, City of New York, 1908.

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Anderson, Bendix. “Sharing Space.” Multifamily Executive, 1 September 2008, www.multifamilyexecutive.com/business-finance/business-trends/sharing-space_o. 

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Bonnat, ​Léon. “Portrait of of Louisa Lee Schuyler (1837–1926).” New-York Historical Society, 1879.

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Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Louisa Lee Schuyler". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 October 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louisa-Lee-Schuyler.

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Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress. “Chance Sends Pupils’ Comfort Kit To “Corner Cop,” Now in Navy.” New-York Tribune 78(26128), 30 May 1918. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1918-05-30/ed-1/seq-9/.

 

DOF: Manhattan 1940s Tax Photos. “nynyma_rec0040_1_01330_0033.” Municipal Archives, City of New York, 1939-1941.

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Google Maps. “Street View” Google Maps, May 2009. maps.google.com.

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Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Plate 84, Part of Section 5.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections, 1955 - 1956. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/4ad919a0-469b-0132-e665-58d385a7bbd0.

 

Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Plate 85, Part of Section 5.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections, 1955 - 1956. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/944f59c0-469b-0132-38a8-58d385a7bbd0.

 

PS59.net. “Public School 59 Beekman Hill International School.” The Internet Archive, 13 February 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050213000953/http://www.ps59.net/.

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PS59.net. “Public School 59 Beekman Hill International School.” The Internet Archive, 30 December 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101230220207/http://059m.r9tech.org/.

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PS59.net. “Public School 59 Beekman Hill International School.” The Internet Archive, 19 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160319150519/http://059m.r9tech.org/.

 

Special Collections, Milbank Memorial Library, Teachers College, Columbia University. “Borough of Manhattan, Public School 59.” New York City Board of Education Archives, 1872 - 1960.

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The New York Times. “Donald Trump Votes.” The New York Times, 8 November 2016. www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000004755887/donald-trump-votes.html.

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Webster, Ian. “Inflation Rate between 1872-2025: Inflation Calculator.” Inflation Calculator, Official Data Foundation / Alioth LLC, www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1872?amount=82361.

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