Most of the old vintage photos of Harlem architecture have been taken in the early part of the 20th century so it is interesting to see a few images from 1950s or 1960s pop up. The above archival shot shows Lexington Avenue at East 105th Street in 1963 and one can see the old PS 72 building holding court on the block but with a different facade outlook than today. From the top image, one can see that the building had been painted a lighter hue at this time period and some of the paint appears to have been chipping off. New York City made the school building an official landmark back in 1996 and the facade now has its original red brick surface restored (lower photo) which is probably the way it look when first constructed back in 1882. PS 72 is no longer used as a school these days and is now called the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center:
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Lexington Avenue and 105th Street, August 1963, via the Digital Collection at the Museum of the City of New York.
That was my school in 1963 and it was P.S. 107 and not P.S.72. 72 was across the street on 105th st.
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