{"nrhp_refnum":"83001672","name":"Fosdick-Masten Park High School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Masten Ave. and E. North St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buffalo","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.90285000000006,"lon":-78.86009999999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-06-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-and-one-half-story brick and terra-cotta high school on a 5.2-acre parcel in northeast Buffalo, Erie County, New York, built 1912-1914 on the site of the former Masten Place park. It is now used as the City Honors School.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is an excellent example of Beaux-Arts-influenced architecture, with symmetry, classical detailing and grand scale. It is also locally significant as a civic landmark that reflects Buffalo's rapid growth and prosperity at the turn of the twentieth century. It was designed by the local firm Esenwein & Johnson, both trained in Beaux-Arts classicism.","narrative":"Fosdick-Masten Park High School, now the City Honors School, is a large H-shaped public school in northeast Buffalo, built between 1912 and 1914. It replaced Masten Park High School, which burned in March 1912, and stands on the former Masten Place, an Olmsted-planned park laid out over an early potter's field. Esenwein & Johnson revised the plans of their earlier Lafayette High School, and Metz Construction Co. built it. The building has a raised sandstone foundation, white glazed terra-cotta walls, red clay tile hipped roofs, and classical details such as pilasters, egg and dart molding and dentils. Inside, marble vestibules and stairs, quarter-sawn oak woodwork and a central auditorium survive. The upper part of the front clock tower was removed in 1928 because of water damage. The nomination presents the school as a strong local example of Beaux-Arts design and a symbol of civic pride in public education during Buffalo's boom years.","period_of_significance":"1900-1914 (specific dates 1912-1914)","architect_builder":"Esenwein & Johnson (architects); Metz Construction Co. (winning bidder for construction)","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts classicism (Ecole des Beaux Arts-influenced)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and functional as the City Honors School; the form says the interior and exterior remain intact and well preserved. It closed in June 1979 and reopened in September 1980.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:43.478696-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/83001672.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001672/bdb461a55d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001672/bdb461a55d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Red Alien at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:City_Honors_frontview.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Red Alien at en.wikipedia</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:City_Honors_frontview.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317619","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fosdick-Masten_Park_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5473332"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/fosdick-masten-park-high-school-83001672/"}