Samuel Gompers Industrial High School in Mott Haven has been unanimously voted a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The 24,000-square-foot structure boasts an ornate façade and impressive art deco details. The building was erected in the 1920s, and it served for years as a career and technical high school for public students before shutting its doors in 2012.
The building is now an educational campus for the students of three different schools, and Rosalia Johnson, a dean at one of those schools, says she can’t wait to tell her students about the building’s new distinction.
“That’s amazing, here in the Bronx,” said Johnson. “This building has been with the community for so many years, and it’s about time.”
Samuel Brooks, president of the Mott Haven Historic District’s Association and co-chair of the Bronx Borough Preservation Landmark Committee, praised the beautiful building and is excited for it to be officially named a landmark.
“The building spans an entire block in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx,” said Brooks. “The minute you walk up on the building, it’s something incredible, to see the building 100% intact.”
The Samuel Gompers Industrial High School campus now joins a growing list of nearly 100 buildings that have been designated as landmarks in the Bronx.