C. B. J. Snyder

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Charles B. J. Snyder (1860-1945) was a prolific American architect, architectural engineer, and mechanical engineer in the field of urban school building design and construction. He is widely recognized[1] for his leadership, innovation, and transformation of school building construction process, design, and quality during his tenure as Superintendent of School Buildings for the New York City Board of Education between 1891 and 1923.

Contents

[edit] Elected Superintendent of School Buildings

At its last meeting of the school year, July 8, 1891, the Board of Education elected Snyder as Superintendent of Buildings, to succeed George W. Debevoise, who had resigned. Of the thirteen votes cast, Mr. Snyder received twelve.[2] It's not clear how Snyder won the support, but he may have had a connection with the banker Robert Maclay, who served as head of the Board of Education's Building Committee. Snyder named his younger son "Robert Maclay." From the time of his appointment until the consolidation of Greater New York in 1898, Mr. Snyder oversaw Manhattan and The Bronx.

On January 1, 1898, The City of New York consolidated with Brooklyn (until then an independent city), the County of New York (which then included parts of The Bronx), the County of Richmond, and the western portion of the County of Queens.[3] After the consolidation, Snyder retained his position as Superintendent of School Buildings for the NYC DOE.

[edit] School design innovations

Snyder in his office, possibly around 1919 (re: picture or architectural drawing Stuyvesant on the wall).
Snyder in his office, possibly around 1919 (re: picture or architectural drawing Stuyvesant on the wall).

Snyder saw school buildings as civic monuments for a better society. He was concerned with health and safety issues in public schools and focused on fire protection, ventilation, lighting, and classroom size. Snyder used terra cotta blocks in floor construction to improve fireproofing, and large and numerous windows to allow more light and air into the classrooms.[4] He also developed new methods for mechanical air circulation in school buildings.[5] The problem of school design in New York was compounded by the relatively constricted sites which were necessitated by the high cost of land acquisition.

  • H-Plan: In 1896 Snyder began designing his first "H-plan," which provided two side courts. Snyder's H-plan improved the overall environmental quality by, among other things, allowing generous light and fresh air into classrooms. And, it featured a grand courtyard entrance.[6] It also provided areas between the wings that were safe for recreation.
  • Skeletal Structure: The use of steel skeleton framing for buildings over four stories allowed for cheaper and faster construction as well as an increased span of window openings.
  • Standardizing a New Standard: Because of the need to produce many buildings in a short time, Snyder's office improved the design and planning ideas of earlier schools and sometimes used the same basic design for several schools.[7]
  • Organizational & Project Management: Snyder reorganized the Deputy Superintendents so that each was responsible for a single part of the building — such as (i) design and planning, (ii) heating and ventilating, (iii) electricity, (iv) plumbing and drainage, (v) furniture, and (vi) inspection and records — and each reported directly to him.[8]

[edit] Retirement

In 1922, Snyder began openly exploring retirement. He said that he hadn't had a vacation in 18 years and was tired and completely worn-out and that it was time to go fishing.[9] On July 1, 1923, Charles B.J. Snyder officially retired, though, some think he had been pressured out of the post by Mayor John Francis Hylan who had been trying to consolidate his authority.[citation needed]

[edit] Notable architectural structures (listed by original designation)

Postcard featuring the 15th Street facade of Snyder's Stuyvesant High School building.
Postcard featuring the 15th Street facade of Snyder's Stuyvesant High School building.

As Superintendent, Mr. Snyder is credited with the design of over 400 structural projects — including more than 140 elementary schools,[10] twenty high schools, and many additions and alterations (until sometime after 1923, middle schools were part of grammar schools).[citation needed] Snyder worked in several styles, including Beaux Arts, English Collegiate Gothic, Jacobean, and Dutch Colonial. He preferred mid-block locations away from busy and polluted avenues. One of his signature motifs was to design spaces for learning that would offer a respite from noisy streets and poverty.[11]

[edit] Elementary schools (grammar schools, K-8)

The Bronx

PS 32 in Little Italy area, 183rd and Beaumont- a beautiful red-brick, terra-cotta & gargoyle redstone Gothic structure

Brooklyn
  • PS 157, 850 Kent Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Manhattan
Queens
Staten Island
  • PS 28; Richmondtown Historical Society (276 Center St., Richmondtown) NYC Landmark[21]

[edit] High shools

Original blueprint of Erasmus Hall at the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center
Original blueprint of Erasmus Hall at the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center
The Bronx
  • Morris High School (1110 Boston Rd.) NYC Landmark[22]
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Queens
Staten Island

[edit] Structural additions

Brooklyn
  • 1912 Addition to Girls High School (Macon Street)
Manhattan
  • PS 72, later PS 107, now Burgos Cultural Center (1674 Lexington Ave.), (Stagg, Architect 1879-82; annex, Snyder, 1911-13). NYC Landmark[30]
Staten Island

[edit] Demolished structures

The Bronx
  • 24th Ward School; later Evander Childs High School Annex; later Resthaven Nursing Home (225 E. 234th St., bet. Kepler and Katonah Aves.)
Manhattan

[edit] Education and training

William E. Bishop in 1885
William E. Bishop in 1885

Primary and Secondary Education

  • Completed common school and Public High School in Stillwater, NY at Post High School
  • 1879-1883 — Arrived in New York City, worked four years with builders in preparation for his profession.
  • 1883 — began the practice of architecture.[31]

Snyder earned two credentials from Technical School:

  • Cooper Union Free Night School of Science, Class C — Third-Year
May 28, 1881 — Certificate, Practical Geometry (name of record: "Charles Snyder").[32]
May 28, 1884 — Certificate, Elementary Architectural Drawing (name of record: "Chas. B.J. Snyder").[33]

Post Cooper Union
From the mid to latter 1880s, Snyder worked with William E. Bishop (b. June 30, 1826 London - d. Oct. 7, 1888, New York City), a New York City master carpenter. Little is known about Bishop.[34] Beginning more than a decade before Snyder's birth, Bishop maintained a lifelong hobby as a volunteer fireman and held a positions of leadership in various firemen companies.[35]

Birth of Snyder's H-plan design In late 1896, Robert Maclay sent Snyder on a study trip to London[36] and Paris.[37] The New York Tribune reported that Snyder was particularly impressed with the late Gothic-style Hotel de Cluny in Paris, a few blocks south of Notre Dame. The wide courtyard facing the street gave Snyder an idea: pull back from the corners to the quiet, less expensive inside lots and build around a courtyard to insure light and air. He expanded that idea to the through-block H-plan, which became his signature design: The first such school, PS 165, was completed September 1898,[38] a little more than a month after the death of Mr. Maclay, July 28, 1898.[39]

[edit] Family and personal history

Very little was known about Snyder's personal or family life and there is no known record indicating what his two middle initials stand for.

Birth & Growing Up: Snyder was born November 4, 1860, in Stillwater, NY. He was the middle of three children born to George I. Snyder (1834-?) (harness maker) and Charity Ann Snyder (née Shonts) (1834-1919).[40] His two siblings, both sisters, were Ella G. Snyder (1857-1876)[41] and Katy Snyder (b. approx 1865).

Marriage & Children: On September 11, 1889, at the home of the bride's parents in Jersey City Heights, Snyder married Harriet Katharine (or Katherine) de Vries[42][43] (b. Nov. 30, 1862 - d. May 25, 1927, Brooklyn). They had two sons, Howard Halsey Snyder (b. Oct. 15, 1890, New Rochelle - d. Mar. 1970, Babylon, NY) and Robert Maclay Snyder (b. Sepember 6, 1894, New Rochelle - d. 1945).

Recreational Affiliations: Country Cycle Club (at the Berkeley Oval Clubhouse, Morris Heights, The Bronx).

Fraternal Affiliations: Snyder was a member of (i) the Kane Lodge No. 454, Free and Accepted Masons (New York City) and (ii) the Jerusalem Chapter, No. 8, Royal Arch Masons (New York City)[31].

Fraternal Life Insurance Affiliations: Snyder was a member of the Huguenot Council, No. 397 (New Rochelle).[44]

Death: Charles B. J. Snyder died November 14, 1945, with his son, Robert, when they were overcome with natural gas poisoning, or carbon monoxide, or both, in their cottage at 103 Araca Road, Babylon, NY. Apparently, upon retiring for the evening, the Snyders had lit the burners on the range oven to heat the rooms. But, during the night, the flame had been extinguished, perhaps by a draft.[45] The elder Snyder was 85, the son was 51. They both are buried in a family plot, in unmarked graves at Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx.

[edit] Publications and presentations

  1. Hamlin, Alfred Dwight Foster; Charles B.J. Snyder, et al. (1910). Modern School Houses; a series of authoritative articles on planning, sanitation, heating and ventilation. 
  2. (1905) Proceedings of the Municipal Engineers of The City of New York, 1904. 

[edit] Professional affiliations

Snyder joined the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers in 1895, served on its Board of Governors from 1900 to 1904, and was elected President in 1907.[46] He joined the American Institute of Architects in 1901 and was elevated to Fellow in 1905.[47]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Designation List 280, (Former) Stuyvesant High School (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1997-05-20). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  2. ^ "C.B.J. Snyder Chosen Superintendent of School Buildings", The New York Times, 1891-07-09. 
  3. ^ The 100 Year Anniversary of the Consolidation of the 5 Boroughs into New York City. New York City. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
  4. ^ W.H. Roberts (ed.), Proceedings of the Municipal Engineers of the City of New York, 1904, pps. 57, 60, 61, Published by the Society in 1905.
  5. ^ Designation List 377, PS 64, (PDF), New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (2006-06-20). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  6. ^ Gray, Christopher (1999-11-21). Streetscapes/Charles B. J. Snyder; Architect Who Taught a Lesson in School Design. New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
  7. ^ Designation List 348, Erasmus Hall High School (pg 5) (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (2003-06-24). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  8. ^ W.H. Roberts (ed.), Proceedings of the Municipal Engineers of the City of New York, 1904, pg. 51, Published by the Society in 1905.
  9. ^ "Supt. Snyder Asks to Quit School Job", The New York Times, 1922-05-04. 
  10. ^ Designation List 377, (Former) Public School 64, pg.5 (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  11. ^ "These Grand Old Schools Nurtured a City; Some Say It Is Time To Tear Them Down, (par. 18)", The New York Times, 1999-09-14. 
  12. ^ National Register of Historical Places - NEW YORK (NY), Bronx County. National Register of Historic Places (2006-01-26). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  13. ^ Designation List 266, Public School 27 (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1995-01-19).
  14. ^ Designation List 185, Public School 31 (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1986-07-15).
  15. ^ Designation List 377, (Former) Public School 64 (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  16. ^ Designation List 162, High School of the Performing Arts (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1982-12-21). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  17. ^ National Register of Historical Places - NEW YORK (NY), New York County. National Register of Historic Places (2006-01-26). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  18. ^ National Register of Historical Places - NEW YORK (NY), New York County. National Register of Historic Places (2006-01-26). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  19. ^ Designation List 316, (Former) Public School 166 (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved on 2000-06-27.
  20. ^ National Register of Historical Places - NEW YORK (NY), Queens County. National Register of Historic Places (2006-01-26). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  21. ^ Designation List 297, Public School 28 (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1998-09-15). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  22. ^ Designation List 162, Morris High School (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1982-12-21). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  23. ^ Designation List 348, Erasmus Hall High School (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (2003-06-24). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  24. ^ Designation List 280, (Former) Stuyvesant High School (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1997-05-20). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  25. ^ Designation List 260, Wadleigh High School for Girls/ (now) Wadleigh School (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1994-07-26). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  26. ^ Designation List 348, Newtown High School (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (2003-06-24). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  27. ^ Designation List 231, Flushing High School (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1991-01-08). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  28. ^ National Register of Historical Places - NEW YORK (NY), Queens County (2006-01-26). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  29. ^ Designation List 160, Curtis High School (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1982-10-12). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  30. ^ Designation List 273, Public School 72 (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1996-06-25). Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  31. ^ a b Van Pelt, Daniel (c1898). Leslie's History of the Greater New York III. Arkell Publishing Company, 543. 
  32. ^ The Twenty-Second Annual Report of the Trustees of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, May, 28, 1881, M. Lowry & Co. Stationers and Printers, New York (1881) — Archives, Cooper Union Library.
  33. ^ The Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Trustees of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, May, 28, 1884, Trow's Printing and Bookbinding Co., New York (1884) — Archives, Cooper Union Library.
  34. ^ Gray, Christopher (1999-11-21). Streetscapes/Charles B. J. Snyder; Architect Who Taught a Lesson in School Design. New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
  35. ^ J. Frank Kernan, Reminiscences of the Old Fire Laddies and Volunteer Fire Departments of New York and Brooklyn, pg. 305, pub. Michael Crane (1885). (in 1883, "Florry" Kernan became the New York correspondent for the Baltimore Morning Herald.
  36. ^ Traveling with his wife, Mr. Snyder returned, departing from Southampton, England, arriving in New York November 28, 1896, aboard the St. Paul, New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.
  37. ^ The BOE granted Snyder a six-week vacation with full pay. Journal of the Board of Education , 1069 (1899).
  38. ^ Gray, Christopher. "Streetscapes/Charles B. J. Snyder; Architect Who Taught a Lesson in School Design", The New York Times, 1999-11-21. 
  39. ^ Robert Maclay Buried, The New York Times, August 2, 1898.
  40. ^ 1870 US Federal Census, Saratoga Springs, NY
  41. ^ Ella G. Snyder was born Feb. 10, 1857, Stillwater, NY, and died Sept. 19, 1876; she is buried at Southside Cemetery, Saratoga Springs
  42. ^ Snyder – De Vries, The New York Times, 1889-09-12 
  43. ^ Marriage Return, State of New Jersey, Hudson County
  44. ^ Royal Arcanum.
  45. ^ "Past President C. B. J. Snyder Dies in Babylon, L.I." (December 1945). Heating, Piping & Air Conditioning. 
  46. ^ Obituary — Charles B. J. Snyder, Heating, Piping & Air Conditioning, December 1945 — ASHVE Journal Section, pg. 654.
  47. ^ American Institute of Architects Archives, Membership Files.

[edit] External links