Boys High School is a historic and architecturally notable public school building in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, United States. It is regarded as "one of Brooklyn's finest buildings."
The "splendid" Romanesque Revival building is richly decorated in terracotta somewhat in the style of Louis Sullivan. The building is admired for its round corner tower, dormers, and soaring campanile.
The building was erected in 1891 on the west side of Marcy Avenue between Putnam Avenue and Madison Street. It was designed by James W. Naughton, Superintendent of Buildings for the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn. The building is regarded as Naughton's "finest work."
When Boys High was landmarked by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1975, the commission called it "one of the finest Romanesque Revival style buildings in the city."
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 25, 1982.
In 1975, the same year the building was landmarked, Boys High merged with Girls' High School to become Boys and Girls High School. Boys and Girls High School immediately moved to a new building at Fulton Street and Utica Avenue.
The school was a college preparatory program with high academic standards. Congressman Emanuel Celler described Boys High in his autobiography, "I went to Boys' High School — naturally. I say "naturally" because Boys' High School then, as now, was the high school of scholarships. Boys of Brooklyn today will tell you, "It's a hard school." It was highly competitive..."
Another Boys High graduate remembered that "I went to Boys High School in Brooklyn, a great school. It was out of the classic tradition. I guess eighty percent of the student body had to take Latin — we didn't have to; we elected Latin, because we felt it was expected of us."
Isaac Asimov (1920–92), authorJules Bender (1914–82), collegiate and professional basketball playerHiman Brown (1910–2010), producer of radio programsAnatole Broyard (1920–90), Essayist, Literary Critic and WriterEmanuel Celler (1888–1981), served in the United States House of Representatives for almost 50 yearsAaron Copland (1900–90), classical composer, composition teacher, writer, and conductorHoward Cosell (born Howard William Cohen, 1918–95), American sports journalistMel Davis (born 1950), professional basketball playerTommy Davis (born 1939), Major League Baseball playerI. A. L. Diamond (1920–88), comedy writerMartin Dobelle (1906–86), orthopedic surgeonHal Draper (born Harold Dubinsky, 1914–90), socialist activist and authorTed Draper (1912–2006), historian and political writerLeon Festinger (1919–89), social psychologistBenjamin Graham, father of value investingAl Goldstein (1936-2013), pornographerAlfred Gottschalk (1930–2009), Rabbi who was a leader in the Reform Judaism movementSihugohugo "Si" Green (1933–80), professional basketball playerEzra E. H. Griffith, psychiatristConnie Hawkins, Basketball Hall of FamerW. Langdon Kihn (1898–1957), portrait painter and illustratorMorris Kline (1908–92), Professor of MathematicsLeo Kornfeld, Deputy Commissioner of Education (Carter and Clinton administrations), and President of True Basic Software CompanyBenjamin Lax (1915–2015), physicist elected to the National Academy of SciencesWilliam Levitt (1907–1994), developer of LevittownCharles Lightfoot Jr. (1930-2014), leader in the fields of software development and desktop publishingNorman Lloyd (born 1914), actor, director and producerNorman Mailer (1923–2007), novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film directorMickey Marcus (1901–48), US Army colonel who became Israel's first generalErnest Martin (born 1932), theatre director and manager, actorAbraham Maslow (1908–70), professor of psychologyWill Maslow (1907–2007), lawyer and civil rights leaderIrving Mondschein, American track and field championMan Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky, 1890–1976), artistMax Roach (1924–2007), jazz percussionist, drummer, and composerAubrey Schenck (1908-99), motion picture producerAllie Sherman, NFL football player and coachLance Wenceslao, ABC Television Broadcasting EngineerAlexander S. Wiener (1907–76), leader in the fields of forensic medicine, serology, and immunogeneticsLenny Wilkens (born 1937), NBA player and coach; Hall of Fame player and coachIzzy Yablok (1907–83), American football playerDr. Solly Walker (born 1932) High School Principal, Educator
