34 1/2 East 12th Street: A Long History of Public Service

On September 15, 1998, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Police Athletic League Building (PAL) at No. 34½ East 12th Street between University Place and Broadway an individual landmark. Before its designation, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, now Village Preservation, supported landmarking the building through statements and letters to the Commission. Today, we continue to advocate for the building’s preservation and its future.

In 1854, the need for another school in the 15th Ward, along with the desire to establish a grammar school exclusively for girls, led the New York City Board of Education to purchase a vacant lot on East 12th Street for $22,500. The building was constructed in 1855 and served as Grammar School 47. Designed by architect Thomas R. Jackson, it was built in the Anglo-Italianate style, with a brownstone base and red brick upper floors. According to the LPC designation report, the school was built on an empty lot on a block then populated by private homes and horse stables, making it the oldest extant building on the block by almost 50 years.

The school’s history could not be discussed without mentioning its connection to Lydia Fowler Wadleigh. She was an educator and a strong advocate for women’s access to education, playing an important role in expanding those opportunities in New York City. Born in New Hampshire in 1817, Wadleigh received an advanced education at the New Hampton Literary and Scientific Institution, where she later taught Latin and Greek. She became principal of Grammar School 47 in 1855, and in 1856 established the 12th Street Advanced School for Girls in the building. The school offered girls an education beyond the basic subjects traditionally considered necessary for them. Wadleigh’s work extended beyond East 12th Street; by 1870, she was serving as the “Lady Superintendent” of the city’s Daily Female Normal School, which became New York Normal College and eventually developed into Hunter College.

The building continued to serve as a school after Wadleigh’s time there. In 1897, it became Girls High School and was renamed Wadleigh High School in her honor in 1900. Wadleigh High School moved to West 115th Street in 1902, and Girls’ Technical High School then occupied the East 12th Street building until 1913. The school was renamed Washington Irving High School in 1906, before that school moved on to a new building on Irving Place.

In 1958, 34½ East 12th Street was transferred to the Police Department’s Juvenile Aid Bureau and the Police Athletic League. PAL had been established in 1914 as the Junior Police Corps. The program grew over the following decades, eventually offering baseball leagues, swimming, boxing, arts and crafts, drama, vocational guidance, job placement, and other programs. PAL became an independent nonprofit organization in 1941, and its programs continued to expand to address the changing needs of New York City youth. Its administrative offices remain at 34½ East 12th Street.

The building’s connection to PAL is an important part of its history, but the landmark itself has been left in an unfortunate state of disrepair. Owned by the City and occupied by PAL for many years, 34½ East 12th Street has been surrounded by scaffolding for roughly two decades, with virtually no visible activity taking place inside. We have continued to advocate for its repair and restoration and have also sought information about plans for the building. After decades behind scaffolding, 34½ East 12th Street needs meaningful investment in its repair and restoration. Click here to tell Mayor Mamdani and key City Council members to finally repair the landmark and secure its future.

To learn more about the history of this and other buildings South of Union Square, CLICK HERE. To explore more Women’s history in our neighborhoods, go to our Civil Rights and Social Justice Map. To explore more landmarks in our neighborhoods, access our landmark designation reports.