Washington Irving Campus

The school was founded as an all-girls school due in large part to the efforts of Patrick F. McGowan, then head of the Board of Education and later acting mayor of New York City.{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/04/10/100393864.html?pageNumber=11|title=P.F. McGowan Buried|work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-03-16}} The school is named after the writer Washington Irving. The building in which the school is located was designed by the architect C.B.J. Snyder and built in 1913. The original building is eight stories high, though the extension on 16th Street designed by Walter C. Martin and built in 1938, is twelve stories high. The school's first principal was William McAndrew.{{cite web |title=M'Andrew To Head Schools of Chicago |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/544699073 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Standard Union |access-date=12 February 2021 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=10 January 1924}}{{cite web |title=WM. M'ANDREW, 73, EDUCATOR, IS DEAD; When School Superintendent in Chicago, He Had Clash With Mayor Thompson A SCHOOL PRINCIPAL HERE Also Served as an Associate Superintendent in New YorkSpent 40 Years in Work Fight Against Politics Vindicated by Court Taught in Chicago in 1889 Backed by the Board (Published 1937) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/06/29/archives/wm-mandrew-73-educator-is-dead-when-school-superintendent-in.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=30 December 2020 |date=29 June 1937 |url-access=subscription}}

The school had been located on Lafayette Street, but because the student population was growing at a rapid rate, a decision was made to move the school to another location,{{cite accessnyc}} and land was purchased at 40 Irving Place. The school started out as a branch of Wadleigh High School for Girls, known at first as Girls' Technical High School, the first school for girls in the city. In 1913 the name changed to Washington Irving. In September 1986, the school became co-ed. In the period that Hector Xavier Monsegur (Sabu) attended Irving, 55% of the school's students graduated with their classes.Fishman, Steve. "“Hello, I Am Sabu ..." New York. June 11, 2012. p. [http://nymag.com/news/features/lulzsec-sabu-2012-6/index1.html 2]. Retrieved on April 10, 2013.

The New York City Department of Education announced in December 2011 that WIHS would be one of two high schools to be closed by summer 2015. The school was to be replaced with Success Academy Charter School. Among the reasons for closing include a graduation rate of 48%.{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Anna M. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/education/new-york-city-education-department-targets-19-schools-to-close.html |title=List of Schools Targeted by City for Closing Is Up to 19 |work=The New York Times |date=December 9, 2011 |access-date=2012-04-10}} Success Academy Charter School planned to open an elementary school in the building in 2013.{{cite news |last=Fleisher |first=Lisa |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303933704577529002194406824 |title=New Charters Proposed for Manhattan |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=July 15, 2012 |access-date=July 25, 2012}} The site was suggested by the City Department of Education but the decision was not final until 2014.{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Mary |url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120717/gramercy/doe-selects-suggested-sites-for-success-academy-collocations |title=DOE Selects 'Suggested' Sites for Success Academy Collocations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719062526/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120717/gramercy/doe-selects-suggested-sites-for-success-academy-collocations |archive-date=2012-07-19 |work=DNAinfo New York |date=July 17, 2012 |access-date=July 25, 2012}} Washington Irving High School officially closed in June 2015 after graduating its last class, resulting in Success Academy taking over its site along with the other high schools.

On February 25, 2016, a fire broke out in the building after an electrical explosion, resulting in the campus to be closed for an unspecified amount of time. All students and staff were relocated to another building.{{cite news|title=DOE Delays Opening Of Manhattan School Building After Electrical Explosion|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/02/27/washington-irving-campus-fire-2/|access-date=11 August 2016|agency=CBS2|date=27 February 2016|location=New York, New York}}

On December 5, 2017, a student was arrested and charged for raping another student.{{cite news|last1=Cook|first1=Lauren|title=Student raped inside Manhattan school staircase, NYPD says|url=https://www.amny.com/news/student-raped-manhattan-1.15325003|access-date=December 6, 2017|work=AM New York|date=December 5, 2017}} The suspect is identified as 18 year-old Jevon Martin while the victim is a 16-year-old girl. The incident took place in a stairwell between the third and fourth floors.{{cite news|last1=Colletti|first1=Roseanne|title=16-Year-Old Student Raped on Staircase at Manhattan Public School Building: NYPD|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-York-City-High-School-Student-Arrested-Rape-462103783.html|access-date=December 6, 2017|agency=NBC News|date=December 5, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Musumeci|first1=Natalie|last2=Lapin|first2=Tamar|last3=DeGregory|first3=Priscilla|last4=Moore|first4=Tina|title=Teen charged with raping classmate in high school stairwell|url=https://nypost.com/2017/12/05/teen-charged-with-raping-classmate-in-high-school-stairwell/|access-date=December 6, 2017|work=New York Post|date=December 5, 2017}}

One enters the lobby through the main doors, which are opposite a grand decorative fireplace. It features a plaster bas-relief overmantel, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by sculptor Frances Grimes. Above the lobby's oak-paneled walls are 12 murals by Barry Faulkner depicting the early history of New York.[http://schools.nyc.gov/community/Facilities/PublicArt/Art/artitem.htm?ac=136&an=21022 Scenes from the Early History of Manhattan], from NYC Department of Education. The murals in the auditorium are by Robert Knight Ryland and J. Mortimer Lichtenauer. The murals in the stairwell are by Salvatore Lascari. On the second floor and above, the walls are white, the doors are red, and the floors are black. The exterior is limestone up to the second story, then gray brick trimmed with limestone. In front of the building, at the corner of Irving Place and 17th Street is a bust of Washington Irving by Friedrich Beer, which is featured on the school's ID. The exterior was used in the TV sit-com Head of the Class. The school's auditorium is located in the middle, between the left and the right wings. It is usually accessed only from the lobby, but has seats on the second level. There are many performances held at the auditorium, by students and outside artists.

File:Washington Irving High School lobby detail 1.jpg|The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Frances Grimes

File:Washington Irving High School lobby detail 4.jpg|Henry Hudson Landing in Manhattan by Barry Faulkner

File:Washington Irving High School lobby detail 5.jpg|Indian Hunters by Barry Faulkner

File:Washington Irving High School lobby detail 3.jpg|Skirmish between Dutch Settlers and Indians by Barry Faulkner

File:Washington Irving High School lobby detail 2.jpg|Dutch Pioneer Women by Barry Faulkner

File:Bust of Washington Irving.jpg|Washington Irving by Friedrich Beer

Students enter the building from East 16th Street, swipe their ID cards, and go through metal detectors while their belongings go through a security X-ray scanner. As per the New York City Schools Chancellor's regulations, MP3 players and some other electronic devices are banned in New York City public schools. In addition, students may no longer enter the building after 10:00 AM.

{{More citations needed section|date=March 2013}}

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• Gabourey Sidibe – actress{{cite web |last=Dasey |first=Annette |date=February 11, 2010 |url=https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/who/celebrity-interviews/article/-/6792039/preciouss-gabourey-sidibe-from-phone-customer-service-rep-to-oscar-nominee/ |title=Precious's Gabourey Sidibe: From Phone Rep to Oscar Nominee |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20140422185230/https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/who/celebrity-interviews/article/-/6792039/preciouss-gabourey-sidibe-from-phone-customer-service-rep-to-oscar-nominee/ |archive-date=April 22, 2014 |website=Yahoo! Lifestyle}}

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• Lillian Belle Sage, science teacher
• Florence Wells Slater, science teacher

• {{Portal-inline|New York City}}
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• {{Official website|https://kepowin.com}}{{dead link|date=May 2018}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040856/http://insideschools.org/index12.php?fso=956 M460 "Washington Irving High School"] on Insideschools.org

{{Gramercy, Kips Bay, Stuyvesant Square}}

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Category:Public high schools in Manhattan

Category:Educational institutions established in 1913

Category:Gramercy Park

Category:1913 establishments in New York (state)

Category:Educational institutions disestablished in 2015

Category:2015 disestablishments in New York (state)

Category:Union Square, Manhattan