We were admiring this photo of the Romanesque Revival Boys’ High School at 832 Marcy Avenue on Flickr by gkjarvis (who, in our opinion, is doing some of the best architectural photography in the borough right now), and wanting to write something about it, so we consulted our small library of books that deal with this kind of thing. After finding only a short entry in the AIA Guide to New York City, we opened Kevin Walsh’s recently published Forgotten New York and were pleased to find this more satisfying entry:

Irish architect James Naughton built the block-long Boys’ High School at Marcy and Putnam Avenues from 1891 to 1892, with its imposing corner towers and rich terra-cotta details. Authors Norman Mailer, Jack Newfield, Isaac Asimov and NBA Phoenix Suns star Connie Hawkins attended school here. Byoys’ High’s towers are of two distinct designs: one is a tall, squarish tower with thin windows, and the other is a more traditional conical tower that seems to match the rest of the building more. Its roof is pleasantly uneven, with cornices, flagpoles, dormers, arches and moldings.

AIA notes that the building’s Romanes is designed “in the manner of Louis Sullivan.” For a broad selection of photos of the building, check out NYC-architecture.com.
Photo by gkjarvis.