Three East Harlem Buildings Designated Landmarks

EAST HARLEM, NY — Three culturally and architecturally significant buildings in East Harlem were awarded landmarks designation Tuesday, the city Landmarks Preservation Commission announced.

The city LPC voted to landmark The Richard Webber Harlem Packing House, Public School 109 and Benjamin Franklin High School. The buildings were calendared for landmarking in February, and the city commission had until November to decide whether they would ultimately be designated.

"We are proud to designate these three buildings in East Harlem as individual landmarks for their architectural and cultural significance," said LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan said in a statement. "They embody East Harlem’s unique development history and recognize the civic institutions and businesses that helped shape the lives of the neighborhood’s immigrant groups."

The buildings were designated individual landmarks, which means any future renovation or alteration plans must be approved by the LPC.

During a February public hearing, groups such as East Harlem Preservation, Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, CIVITAS and the Historic Districts Council argued that each building is notable not only for its architectural history, but also its cultural and civic contributions to East Harlem.

The oldest building of the three is the Richard Webber Harlem Packing House on East 119th Street between Second and Third avenues. The packing house was built in 1895 as part of a slaughterhouse, meat packing and retail facility, according to LPC research. The packing house served as a "sophisticated public face" for the complex due to its size, quality craftsmanship and Romanesque Revival architectural style.

The other buildings — Public School 109 on East 99th Street between Second and Third avenues and Benjamin Franklin High School on Pleasant Ave near East 116th Street — were constructed in the 20th century and remain in use to this day.

East Harlem's first public high school, Benjamin Franklin High School, is now known as the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. The school was built in the 1942 in an area that was known as the "Little Italy" of East Harlem. The school was planned in the 1930s as a way for the neighborhood's Italian immigrant population to receive a bilingual education and adapted its curriculum to include the needs of the Puerto Rican community.

Public School 109 is now known as El Barrio's Artspace PS109 and serves as an affordable living and working space for neighborhood artists. Built between 1899 and 1901, Public School 109's Collegiate Gothic-style building could accommodate 2,000 students. The school was constructed during a time of increasing enrollment in city schools and a time when East Harlem's immigrant population was growing, according to LPC research.

Benjamin Franklin High School's principal, Leonard Covello, was the first Italian-American principal in New York City history and ran a school that sought to form its students into engaged citizens, according to LPC research.

After an incident of racial tension at Benjamin Franklin High School in 1945, Frank Sinatra was invited to the school to talk to students about racial harmony. During the visit, Sinatra sang the song "Aren't You Glad You're You."

Photos courtesy New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission