{"nrhp_refnum":"00001159","name":"Public School 109","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"215 East 99th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.786984817000075,"lon":-73.94698124099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Public School 109 is a five-story Collegiate Gothic public school building at 215 East 99th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan, built in 1898 and designed by Charles B.J. Snyder.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A in education as a representative example of the many schools New York City built in the late nineteenth century in poor immigrant neighborhoods. It is also significant under Criterion C as a distinctive Collegiate Gothic school and an excellent early work of architect C.B.J. Snyder, who reformed the city's school design and construction.","narrative":"Built in 1898 on East 99th Street in East Harlem, Public School 109 is a five-story, H-plan school in the Collegiate Gothic style, designed by architect C.B.J. Snyder. Its brick walls rest on a limestone base and are decorated with terra cotta, steeply pitched gables, ornate dormers, turrets and a copper-clad spire. Beneath the Gothic detail is a steel and cast-iron frame with brick barrel-vault floors, and the turrets and spire serve as part of the original ventilation system. It is the only survivor of the area's pre-urban-renewal streetscape. The school was among those the city erected in immigrant districts as enrollment grew and compulsory education spread, and it reflects the investment made in quality school design. It is also an excellent early example of Snyder's work. The building is now vacant. Work begun in 1999 in preparation for demolition removed some terra cotta and windows, but an engineering survey found it could be rehabilitated.","period_of_significance":"1898-1950","architect_builder":"Snyder, Charles B.J.","architectural_style":"Late 19th Century Revival: Collegiate Gothic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed current function is vacant/not in use. Demolition preparations began in 1999, including removal of some terra cotta dormer units and window sashes and a temporarily sealed roof. A 1999 engineering survey found no immediate danger of collapse.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.29973-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/00001159.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001159/b299135d80-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001159/b299135d80-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Americasroof","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nyc-ps9.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Americasroof</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nyc-ps9.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319835","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.S._109","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17986850"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/public-school-109-00001159/"}