Trustees Change Name to Jack Abrams School
Jack Abrams Intermediate School is no more as Huntington School Board members voted to change the name of the building to Jack Abrams School. The facility will house the district’s entire sixth grade enrollment in September as well as central administrative offices.
Trustees took the action at their first meeting of the summer last Tuesday night. District officials will now contact the State Education Department so the name change can be processed and reflected in state records. The building previously educated students in grade four, five and six. Woodhull School will now house grades four and five, exclusively.
The site of the two-story Jack Abrams School has an interesting history behind it. Huntington Elementary School, the original name given to the building, was built near the site of the former Lowndes Avenue and Roosevelt Elementary Schools. Erected in 1968-69 as part of the Huntington Station Urban Renewal Project, Huntington El, as it was long called, is the youngest building in the Huntington School District.
Lowndes Avenue School, the original structure on the site, was built in 1913 for $58,000. Like other such schools in the district, it served students ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade. In 1927 an addition was added at a cost of $99,409 and the building was renamed Roosevelt School in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt, whose wife and son attended the dedication ceremonies. When Robert K. Toaz Junior High School opened in 1939, Roosevelt became a true elementary school, housing grades K-6.
Roosevelt was an imposing structure, by any measure, and it featured separate entrances for boys and girls. It was demolished during the 1967-68 school year and construction of the current building started soon after.
When Huntington Elementary School first opened in 1969, it was used as a junior high school. Toaz was closed that year for renovations after a fire badly damaged the auditorium and surrounding areas and to allow for construction of a large addition to the north side of that building. The following year Huntington El began operating as a K-6 school. It has served various grade levels since and today houses students in grades 4-6 as is known as Huntington Intermediate School.
The structure was built to also serve as a community center, with a full auditorium, an oversized gym, several multi-purpose rooms, an especially large cafeteria and library and a courtyard featuring an impressive amphitheater with a series of large built-in concrete steps for outdoor instruction or performances.
The interior layout provides relatively easy access to all facilities, a plus for evening use. During the construction of the school, several private homes were also demolished through eminent domain proceedings to allow for more spacious grounds surrounding the building. Roosevelt School, which stood about 125 yards south of Jack Abrams School, consisted of about three acres. Today the site is 13 acres in size.
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