 | ||
Rhodes preparatory school top 5 facts
Rhodes Preparatory School was a private school located at 11 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York City, United States. It included a lower school with students in seventh and eighth grades and an upper school for students from grades nine through twelve. For a brief period in its history, it also had fifth and sixth grade classes. There was also an evening school for adults.
Contents
- Rhodes preparatory school top 5 facts
- Plaque outside 11 West 54 Street building
- Timeline
- Former students
- References
Rhodes was a college preparatory school. It had an excellent reputation and attracted students from all over the world. The school had exceptional teachers who were dedicated and had high academic expectations for their students. Many graduates went on to Ivy League or Seven Sisters schools, and to other prestigious institutions around the country and the world. The now-defunct school is often referred to as “Rhodes School” or simply “Rhodes.”
Signs in the classrooms read, “Every class is an English class.”
The Warwick New York Hotel, located just a few doors down at 65 West 54th Street, hosted many school functions in its ballroom. Several Rhodes proms and commencement ceremonies were held at another New York Hotel, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
Rhodes was the model for the school in the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the school of last resort for ne'er-do-wells who where kicked out of other private schools; i.e. Rick Jason (actor: Combat), who had been kicked out of nine other preparatory schools for outlandish behavior.
Plaque outside 11 West 54 Street building
“These two buildings, which share a fine Georgian façade, were designed in 1896 by McKim, Mead & White for the James Goodwin family, who occupied the residence from 1898 to 1944. The ownership of the building changed hands in 1945, and it became the Rhodes School until 1979. The United States Trust Company of New York purchased the building in 1980. It has been faithfully restored and now serves the Trust Company as a private banking office.”