C.B.J. Snyder Schools of the Bronx
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It was the last New York City Board of Education meeting of school year 1890-91, a time when wave after wave of immigrants was flooding the city including the public schools. In a final piece of business before adjourning for the summer, the Board elected Charles B. J. Snyder (nobody knows what the “B. J.” stands for) as its Superintendent of Buildings.
An architect by training and a progressive thinker by nature, Snyder would hold that post for more than 30 years, and during that time, he transformed the design of urban public schools.
Snyder saw school buildings as more than a collection of classrooms; he saw them as civic monuments for a better society. He was concerned — some say obsessed – with health and safety, and focused on fire protection, ventilation, lighting, and classroom size. Large and numerous windows, for example, were a hallmark of Snyder school buildings.
Snyder had an enormous impact on countless numbers of youngsters, yet his name remains virtually unknown.
Recently, I took part in a walking tour offered by the Municipal Art Society featuring several of Snyder’s still-standing schools in the Bronx.
March 13th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Great, great feature! Love the pictures. Love the info. Thanks and congrats.
March 14th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Great work, Barbs. Great use of history from the past and present.
April 12th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Barbara,
Thanks for taking the time to put together and publish the show. It was great! I can always learn more about CBJ, my great grandfather.
Cindy
July 1st, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Thank you for the information on Mr. Snyder. I am the current building principal at the Morris High School Campus which now accomodates 5 small schools including my own, the School For Excellence. I will add this information to our efforts to insure that the present Morris
Campus students know their heritage.
October 17th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
For those of you interested in learning more about C.B.J. Snyder, see chapter 2, “Dawn of a New Century: C.B.J. Snyder, Master Builder and Art Patron,” in my book, Public Art for Public Schools (The Monacelli Press, 2009). In this chapter, I discuss Snyder’s architectural, engineering, and administrative innovations as well as his support of public art in schools. Morris High School is one of the Snyder buildings I featured.