The brick construction with terracotta details and slate roof with copper-frame dormer windows and turrets was representative of the Richardson Romanesque and Queen Anne style popular in the 1880s.

[4][5] As Newark lost half its population from white flight and urban abandonment from the 1950s to present day, the number of school-age students dropped, as did the need for as many public schools buildings.

[8] Within days of NJIT’s acquisition, a fire was started on May 1, 2019, in the school’s basement, causing damage to one room and the wood floor of the classroom above in the 1908 building.

[16] Due to a bureaucratic technicality, the school had been considered for landmark status, but the application was not formalized by the time demolition began.

[18] Other landmarks like the old Essex County Jail, which is just one block from the former Warren Street School and is on the National Register of Places, are also at risk of demolition as part of the same redevelopment plans.