Colored School No. 3

1841 - 1934

The last remaining original building that once housed a “Colored School” in Brooklyn, the Romanesque Revival structure at 270 Union Avenue stands as a testament to the city’s segregationist history in schooling. Founded in 1841 by local black leaders as a part of Williamsburgh’s African Free School, Colored School No.3 was soon absorbed to become part of a newly established “separate but equal” Board of Education school district for Black students. Despite formal desegregation efforts in the 1890s, Colored School No.3, renamed as P.S. 69 after the appointment of Philip A. White, the first African American appointee to the Board of Education, exclusively served Black students due to the population makeup of its surrounding neighborhood. However, as the Black population of Williamsburg dwindled at the close of the century due to migration and Black parents opting to send their children to neighboring public schools, P.S.69 was annexed to nearby P.S. 19 in 1901, and later P.S. 18 in 1919. Eventually, the building was relinquished to the Public Works Commission in 1934, which appropriated it for the Civil Works Administration during the Great Depression. Built by renowned school architect Samuel B. Leonard, the building, which cost under $9,000 to construct, had four classrooms and could serve approximately 220 students at full capacity. Notable Black educators were also a part of its history, as Catherine T. Clow, Brooklyn’s first Black female principal, served at Colored School No.3 from 1876 until the end of the century. 270 Union Avenue is currently privately owned by artist James O. Clark and his wife Linda, who purchased the building and renovated it in 1983.

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Details

Category
School
Instructional Level
Elementary/Grammar School
Audience
Children
Founder(s)
Willis Hodges, Samuel Ricks, T. Wilson, Jacob Fields, and William J. Hodges
Corporate Body
Board of Education
Tags
African, Black, race, segregation

Location

  • 270 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA
    ? - ?

Archival Collections

References

  1. Landmarks Preservation Commission (Former) Colored School No. 3= Designation Report LP‐1977, New York, City of New York 1998.
  2. Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. "Brooklyn, Vol. 1, 2nd Part, Double Page Plate No. 37; Part of Wards 16 & 18, Section 10 & 8; [Map bounded by Ten Eyck St., Bushwick Ave., Meserole St., Morgan Ave; Including Flushing Ave., Broadway, Union Ave.]" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1916. https://digitalcollections.n
  3. “Jun 01, 1879, Page 1 - Brooklyn Eagle at Brooklyn Public Library.” Brooklyn Public Library archive from 1809-1999 - Brooklyn Public Library Archive. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50349777/?terms=%22colored+school+no+3%22&match=2.
  4. Spellen, Suzanne. “Building of the Day: 270 Union Avenue.” Brownstoner, April 18, 2012. https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/building-of-the-day-270-union-avenue/.