In
the series
... "I REMEMBER
THE ROCKAWAYS"...
Stevie S. Stevens writes
about
"The Academy Avenue School"
Well! I certainly know when I'm not wanted!!
I spent less than half an hour in the Academy Avenue School (P. S. 44) and that was back in 1950. My family had just moved into the Rockaways from out of state. Now that we were permanent residents, my father was obligated to enroll me into an educational institution. For many summers, my paternal grandmother had rented a room for the season at a large mansion which had been converted into a rooming house. The place was located in the middle of the east side of Beach 94th Street so my father was already familiar with the large and imposing ancient elementary school house at the southeast corner of the block.
We actually got "lost" inside the building for about ten minutes before we were noticed by a staff member who then directed us to the proper administrator. Once in the "right place" we were promptly informed that we were in the "wrong place." Because we lived closer to the village of Far Rockaway, I would be assigned to a school closer to my home -- P.S. 106 on Beach 35th Street.
But this missive is about the Academy Avenue School -- so lets direct our attention to that educational edifice. Public School #44 -- or as it was conveniently known for over half a century -- the Academy Avenue School (due to the original name of the street -- or did the school give the street that name?) was erected on the southwest corner of Beach 94th Street in the year 1900 and opened its doors in 1901 to admit little over five-hundred students. It was actually one of the first new school buildings built in the Borough of Queens shortly after the consolidation of The City of New York
-- that merger having taken effect in 1898. This was actually a replacement school-- the original had been confined to a small one-story wooden affair located directly across the street on the northeast corner of the major intersection. Once the new building was in operation, the old wooden one was demolished to provide the space for a service annex for the 100th police precinct -- a station built directly east of the original school on the same side of the street.
The student body of the Academy Avenue School was comprised of children who resided in the local Hammels and Holland sections, the Seaside areas, and even students who lived as far away as Rockaway Park often found themselves traveling to Beach 94th Street for their education experiences. At various times, the school included from elementary through the eighth grade. In 1932, due to the eventual overcrowding (naturally) the city added a four-story brick extension at the southern side of the building -- thus eliminating a small park and a grassy ball field.
By the end of WWII, with the ever increasing year-round population of the peninsula "bursting at the seams" several new and more efficient elementary schools had been (and were in the process of being) established and the Academy Avenue School was slowly being phased out -- closing down completely by the middle of the 1950s - the elaborate and distinctive building and its extension were leveled. The southeast corner did not remain vacant for long -- a new brick building soon sprang up and today the Peninsula Library occupies the site.