PS 15, Eastchester

by Kevin Walsh

Bronx’ own Little Red Schoolhouse, PS 15, is at 4010 Dyre Avenue, near the end of the line on the #5 train. The architectural gem was built in 1877, designed by architect Simon Williams and was originally a school in the town of Eastchester in Westchester County before its capture by NYC in 1895. It now serves as a community center.

The further northeast in the Bronx you get to Westchester County, the further into Eastchester you penetrate … Eastchester is a neighborhood in the northeast Bronx that actually used to belong to Westchester County (the Bronx was formed from New York and Westchester Counties) and didn’t become a part of New York City until 1895.

2/21/13

 

27 comments

TomfromNJ February 21, 2013 - 7:36 pm

Gem indeed! Nice looking old school. Nice it has been preserved.

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william May 29, 2013 - 6:56 pm

I lived in the area of the school from 1940 until 1966 and knew many of my friends who went to P.S. 15. I even remember waiting for my older friends on the slope of the stairs for them.

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mike June 5, 2013 - 6:35 pm

i played in the playground at P.S.15, which if you left by the back stairs you would be in Mt. Vernon. it was at the intersection of Dyre Ave. and Dark Street, just up the hill from Light Street. a fact i found quite amusing when i was a child. in the 1930s 233rd St. from Seton Ave to Dyre Ave. was level. dropping off sharply near where Imperial Farms was located. when car traffic became common the city graded the land on 233rd which is why all the streets on the north side of 233rd run downhill to it. Amundson Ave where i grew up has the steepest hill which was great for sleigh riding from outside my door to Dyre Ave, then hitching a ride back up on the # 14 bus. you can see the difference in height from past to present between Secor and Dyre where the Rectory for Nativity was once at ground level. geez i miss those days

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lynn September 28, 2015 - 10:46 pm

I lived there from 1944-1966.
the sleigh riding was great.
also went to PS 68.
I had the best childhood, it was so nice then
remember Flugers butcher store and Shapiros.
Got my Buster Browns there.

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Kenneth A Scannapiego January 6, 2018 - 1:06 pm

What years did you attend PS 68?

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Sonny Murphy July 25, 2014 - 2:30 pm

A treasure indeed. Include me in the Class of ’32. of the four class school. The school yard was divided by a canopied fence–girls to the North, boys to the South.( or was it the opposite). After PS !5 it was PS 68 for some, others PS 84. One envied classmate was able to hit the ceiling of the water-wall boys urinal, another earned a Silver Star on Normandy. God Bless America.

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Lucille June 2, 2015 - 2:40 pm

I remember PS 15, I went there when Mrs. Drover, Mrs. Blackburn (she always had peanut butter sandwiches for lunch), Miss Vey taught there. And PS 84,there was a big potbelly stove in one corner of the classroom where we put our mittens to dry out in the winter and PS 68, where we graduated from elementary school – they were really the good old days.

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Ann July 16, 2015 - 7:23 pm

Immediately when I saw your photo, I recognized it as the school where I attended kindergarten. I recall performing the May Pole dance outside on the grass for a special ceremony, and playing “Farmer in the Dell” in the basement on a regular basis. It is nice to see that the building is nicely preserved.

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priscianus jr September 15, 2015 - 11:57 pm

I remember coming across this school back in the days when I was going out with a girl from Mt Vernon, so it had to have been in the mid-1960s. I was amazed at it even then, and very glad to see it’s still there and being taken care of.

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lynn September 28, 2015 - 10:41 pm

Went to this school.
remember Dorothy Clark,Maude Finneran ,

Haveing air raid drills in the basement.
having shows, doing Surrey with the fringe on top.

Most wonderful years .

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Robert Woods February 25, 2016 - 11:12 am

I was there 1944-1950. Mrs. Christabelle Meyer had 2 grades in the same room (1-2).Grade 3 was on its own if I recall – and then 4-5 together in another room (I had Mrs. Maude Finneran). Kindergarten had the 4th room (Mrs. Brody?).

btw – the back stairs did not get you into Mt. Vernon – you had to go north for a bit – the same distance if you had gone out the front steps.

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Rosemarie April 5, 2016 - 11:01 am

I was just sent a group photo taken at P.S. 15 via email. I can identify some of the children in the picture. It appears the children are from different grades. There are 2 sets of twins – Kraska girls and Johanson boys, as well as Richard Cerutti, Eddie Nester, Richard Neiderauer, and myself. It must have been taken in 1947 or 1948. If you’d like to see the photo reply to this email or email me at mi.ro.fogarty@comcast.net.

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Kenneth A Scannapiego January 6, 2018 - 10:23 am

Roe for some reason my comment was blocked. Can you help?

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Connie August 20, 2018 - 12:14 pm

I was there 1942/1943. Went to kindergarten and started first grade in Row 1. Row 2 was second grade and so forth until sixth row 6th grade. One teacher.

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Ingrid March 8, 2017 - 10:45 pm

I grew up as a child in the 70’s and 80’s and enjoyed going to the little red school house for after school activities. My dad would take me along with my mom, brother and younger sister so we could enjoy the ceramic classes. The little red school house will always have a big part of my ♡.

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Charles Stronconi June 2, 2017 - 7:02 pm

I attended PS 15 from1960 to 1961 I still remember the “PS 15 Theme song”. I would love to take a walk through that old “Little Red School House”

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Charles Stronconi June 2, 2017 - 7:08 pm

I attended PS 15 from 1960 to1961 I still remember the two PS15 theme songs. I would truly enjoy taking a walk through that old “Little Red School House”. Fond memories!

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Neil Rathjen June 9, 2017 - 4:24 pm

Attended PS 15 from appx. 47 through 52
Principal: Mrs. Walpole
Kindergarten: Mrs. Kelly (Dancing around the May-Pole)
1st & 2nd grades: Mrs. Christabelle Meyer
3rd & 4th grades: Mrs. Maude Finneran (Lived across the Street in a two Family)
5th grade was taught by Mrs. Dorothy Clark
Remember those hydrogen bomb drills?
Down to the painted basement floor, role out the oil cloth & tuck your head.
Remember sucking the honeysuckle flowers after school right around the corner?
And the king of baseball card flipping Ms. Blanche Bracco?
Exciting times!
Great to see that it is now a functioning Land mark!

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Kenneth A Scannapiego January 6, 2018 - 1:20 pm

Like Neil I attended from 48-55 for K-6th grade. That was the first year for six grade. Would love to hear from some old classmates if you’re still out there. Like Bucky, Ken Thompson, Paul Bernardino.
My personal email address is BXKASCANN@aol.com.
I moved away from New York in 1967 after graduating from CCNY.

I moved to Cleveland Tennessee in 1975 and have never left the south since.

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Connie August 20, 2018 - 12:06 pm

I went there in 1943 for a short while
There were only two classrooms, one for kindergarten and one for grades 1 thru 6. Each row was a grade. What a simple time that was. We moved early in the beginning of the school year and don’t remember much else.

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Allan Johanson June 10, 2019 - 6:25 am

Allan Johanson
June 10 2019
Like Neil Rathjen, who is a year younger than me, George ( my twin) and I attended PS 15 from 1946 through 1951
Principal: Mrs. Walpole
Kindergarten: Mrs. Kelly
1st & 2nd grades: Mrs. Christabelle Meyer
3rd & 4th grades: Mrs. Maude Finneran (Lived across the Street in a two Family)
5th grade was taught by Mrs. Dorothy Clark ( pretty woman whom I had a crush for)

Kenneth asked about Paul Bernardino. He and his older brother, Mario, inherited and ran a stone business (Paul) and iron business (Mario) in the Bronx. I saw Mario at a function held by Joe Marino (PS 68) some thirty years ago. Mario also supplied the iron beam for an extension on my house in Port Washington, NY in 1986. Michael Brini and I attempted to take the Kraska twins to the movies circa 1955 (we were all in PS 68), but when we showed up, they were in the car going to the movies with their parents who obviously didn’t want their daughter dating at age 13!. Regarding my brothers, George is well and living in Yonkers, NY. Norman is also well and lives in Griswold, CT and Ridge Manor Florida.

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norm johanson June 12, 2019 - 6:27 pm

Norm Johanson 6/12/2019
The teachers at P.S. 15 were all wonderful, dedicated women from Mrs. Kelly for kindergarten Mrs Myers for 1&2, Maude Finneran for 3/4 and Mrs. Clark 5/6. Somewhat different in personality but very interested in their students learning. Mrs. Clark gave you candy bars when you got 25 stars for penmanship,and also conduct I think. We lived on Pratt ave and would cut through the Rondini’s back yard to get to Harper Ave. then through the woods to get to Secor and then past Mrs. Finnerans”s house to get to Dyre and across the street was the school. Still know people who live near there currently and some who have moved away have been getting together in July as a group remembering Dyre Ave. The Dyer Avenue reunion used to have 50 -100 attendees but last year maybe only 30. It was held in New Rochelle on the Post road but this year due to lack of numbers will be held in a smaller place in Greenwich Ct. Definitely a treasure and feel very lucky to have had the school and those teachers.

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Faith Ponterotto November 3, 2019 - 8:06 pm

I attended PS15 in the early 60’s for third grade. My teacher was Mrs. Cahill (mother of Dr. Cahill). I remember having pretzels and milk during snack time and putting a penny in my loafer and thinking that the children that put a dime in their loafers were rich. My younger brother Paul attended as well during that time. Beautiful memories and I’m happy to see that it is in such good hands. Simple, beautiful times. I was Mrs. Cahill’s favorite (at least I thought so). At the time my name was Faith Silvestri.

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Nancyann Rella December 18, 2019 - 7:26 am

My mother and her siblings attended PS 15 and then I did from 1952-1956 when we moved back to Westchester. My grandparents’ house was directly across the street and we lived there for a few years. I had Mrs. Kelly in Kindergarten, Mrs. Meyers for first and second grade, and Mrs. Finneran for third before we moved. I remember getting our polio shots in the basement of the school, the recitals (I played violin), the May Pole, etc. . In 1954, Kitty Hanson of the NY Daily News did a feature story on the historic school and I and a classmate were in the photo that accompanied the story. Years later, when I was news editor for the The Daily Argus in Mount Vernon, I returned and did a “you can go home again” story about the school. Good childhood memories.

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Jason Ramirez March 8, 2020 - 1:17 pm

I believe I was in the last class that attended PS 15. This would have been in 1973-74. My teacher was Mrs. Sperber. It was a glorious place and we later moved on to PS 68 on Monticello. Are there any members of those communities in this thread (1973-1978)? Best Jason Ramirez

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Anthony coletti June 2, 2020 - 9:54 am

I attended ps15 from 1952 to 1958. Then went on to ps142 john Philip Souza. That was a great area, had lots of fun. My mom was even president of the PTA. Moved out of area in 1976. Those were good old days

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RS February 19, 2021 - 6:28 am

Reading these comments make me extremely emotional. I could probably be many of your guys grandkids. I lived on pratt ave in the 90s as a child and went to os 68 on monticello. It never thought about the generations of kids before me who inhabited the area who must have played studied and had so many firsrs. By the time the 90s came around not many people knew what the school was. Coming from an immigrant family no one in my fam had memories going back past the mid 80s so much of that area is still an enigma. I would love to gwar about stores and establishments that no longer exist and see pics if possible. I found out a few years back the dyre ave stop on the 5 train ince had many stops north of it that extended into white plains and portchester. Did anyone have memories of that? I was able to identify the kingsbrudge station less than quarter mile from dyre ave which lies in ruins but still has few small touches. I pray many if the posters are still alive and well. God blessm

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