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James Oscar Betelle (1879-1954) was a Newark, NJ based civic architect. Public schools were his speciality—if you grew up in the New York Tri-State area, there's a good chance you went to one.
Betelle drifted in obscurity for sixty years, until the day I paused to wonder, "who designed my school?" More…
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Tag Archives: New York
Restored chandeliers installed at Washington Irving Intermediate School
Ten beautifully restored chandeliers were recently installed in the auditorium at the Washington Irving Intermediate School of Tarrytown, New York. The school recently underwent a major renovation which included larger classrooms, an expanded library, a new art room, renovated music … Continue reading
New Rochelle High School Can’t Catch a Break
Poor New Rochelle High school. As if a devastating fire in 1968 wasn’t bad enough, the old girl suffered another indignity as lightning struck one of its towers about 6pm on Friday. The strike arrupted a blaze that basically destroyed … Continue reading
The Ghost of New Rochelle High School
My first exposure to New Rochelle High School was a series of photographs in a 1932 article on school architecture written by James Betelle. While I had been pretty familiar with the traditional English Gothic and Neo-Classical designs of his … Continue reading
The Spectre of Typos
While doing a little bit of research into Guilbert & Betelle’s New Rochelle High School, I came upon this postcard of Isaac E. Young High School, also in New Rochelle. Isaac E. Young Middle School, as it is called now, … Continue reading
Great Neck High School
The December, 1931 issue of The Architectural Forum article, “Nine Senior High School Buildings” featured two Guilbert & Betelle schools; Great Neck High School and The Bronxville School. The text and illustrations for Great Neck High School (now Great Neck … Continue reading