Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Upper West Side, 84th Street Between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues


Mary Sargent © 2009 ………………….…………… ………………….. click to enlarge

So the building we saw last night with no windows is P.S. 9, Sarah Anderson Elementary School.  I thought I would just complain about the architecture and leave it at that, but I discovered there is much to know about this school.  I was entraced to see that the Wikipedia article (follow the above link) has a lengthy discussion of the architecture (wouldn't you know it was built in the 1960's).  It also states that before this block was razed in preparation for building this school and the Louis D. Brandeis High School across the street (see below), it was known as "The Worst Block in New York."  As for who Sarah Anderson was, she was a single mother of 3 children, and a "beloved school paraprofessional" for whom the school was named when she died in 1981 at the age of 59.


Mary Sargent © 2009 ………………….…………… ………………….. click to enlarge

The Louis D. Brandeis High School.  Quick, who was Louis Brandeis?  U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1916-1939, and,

as Justice William O. Douglas wrote, “Brandeis was a militant crusader for social justice whoever his opponent might be. He was dangerous not only because of his brilliance, his arithmetic, his courage. He was dangerous because he was incorruptible. . . [and] the fears of the Establishment were greater because Brandeis was the first Jew to be named to the Court."

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