Samuel J. Tilden High School
It was named for Samuel J. Tilden, the former governor of New York State and presidential candidate who, although carrying the popular vote, lost to Rutherford B. Hayes in the disputed election of 1876.
The construction of the school was estimated to cost between $2,500,000 and $3,000,000 and would feature specialized facilities including a swimming pool, rifle range, auditorium with a capacity of more than 1300, library, and science laboratories.
[1] While the school was eventually constructed on Tilden Avenue and East 57th Street, residents in Brownsville, the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce, and Borough President James J. Bryne initially opposed the site because of poor transportation options around the location.
Shallow, the Superintendent of the Board of Education who initially recommended a high school be named after New York Governor, Samuel J.
[5] Several years later, the WPA would make another addition to the Samuel J. Tilden High School, this time in the form of a mural for the auditorium.
[11] Over 100 girls knit sweaters and scarves in conjunction with the British War Relief Fund and American Red Cross.
The Red Cross also agreed to send instructors to teach nursing and first aid methods; if the war were to last long enough, the girls would become nurses-in-aid to care for wounded soldiers.
Changing demographics and under-enrollment set the stage for controversy around rezoning and plans for Samuel J. Tilden HS.
[16] Tensions came to a head during the March 1972 hearings on rezoning the catchment areas for three Brooklyn high schools.
[17] A number of Tilden High School students prepared a flier in which they outlined their position regarding the rezoning.
The students who prepared the flier were concerned that if the ethnic balance were to tip too much, "an unfortunate chain of events [would take] place: white families [would flee] the neighborhood."
[22] When it opened in 1929, Principal John M. Loughran adopted the slogan, “athletics for all.”[23] Equipped with facilities, sports field, three gymnasiums, swimming pool, etc., Principal Loughran set to find the personnel and coaches that would establish Tilden High Blue and Greys as an athletic power in New York City.
This new facility and the gyms inside the building were made available to adults in the community several years earlier during evenings, with separate times for men and women.
[25] The Tilden Blue and Grey won a number of Public Schools Athletic League titles in football, baseball, tennis, track, swimming, and fencing.
During the summer of 1987, teacher and Dean of students Joanne Belinksy became the sixth woman in history to run 3,000 miles (4,800 km) across the country.
