Public School 65K
Why it's listed
Public School 65K, at 158 Richmond Street in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn, is a brick school that has been in use since 1870. It was built to house students who had previously met in a nearby Methodist church. In 1889, after Cypress Hills had become part of the City of Brooklyn, extensions were added to the front and rear, and the front addition gave the building its present Romanesque Revival facade. The design is by James W. Naughton, who served as Superintendent of Buildings for the Brooklyn Board of Education for nearly twenty years. The two-story building has a slightly projecting central tower, a compound round-arched entrance, arched windows and terra-cotta plaques drawn from the Queen Anne style. Gothic-derived trefoils decorate the second-floor window tympana. The nomination values it as one of the few handsome nineteenth-century Brooklyn schools that survives and still serves as a school.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents it as one of the few nineteenth-century Brooklyn school buildings that survives and still operates as a school. Its 1889 facade by James W. Naughton is a modified early Romanesque Revival design that also draws on Queen Anne and Gothic details. It reflects the long local concern for education.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 81000408, listed December 10, 1981. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 158 Richmond St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Brooklyn |
| Listed | December 10, 1981 |
| Reference number | 81000408 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Original architect unknown; James W. Naughton did the 1889 extension |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied and in use as an educational facility; condition given as good and altered, on its original site. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.68326, -73.87729 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 81000408.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7257555
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.