Once upon a time, Brighton was home to a settlement of Dutch immigrants, poetically called the “Dutch Settlement”. A transplanted slice of old Holland, the settlement was noted for its Dutch cultural flavor; neat little houses stood shoulder-to-shoulder surrounded by gardens full of vegetables all in rows. The Dutch, gifted in gardening and horticulture, tended to their own little farms, or else lent their labors to Brighton nurserymen.

Though its relative isolation allowed this settlement to keep its unique flavor for many years, things began to change around the turn of the 20th century. Annexation took the section of Brighton surrounding the Holland Settlement in 1905, making it the new 21st ward, but the settlement itself resisted annexation. Two years later, in 1907, the Main Street East trolley line was extended east of Culver Road. And in 1910, Humboldt Street was laid down and, in 1911, extended.

At long last, the Holland Settlement was annexed by Rochester and brought into the city proper January 1st, 1914.

Almost immediately, plans were drawn up to build a new school for the Holland Settlement. Land was purchased from the lands of dairyman Charles Lester Lockwood and former lands of Walter George Adlam, at the time owned by George E. Donnelly.

The land selected was between Atlantic Avenue and the new Humboldt Street. The new school was originally intended to be named Henry Hudson, after the famed explorer of the Hudson River and discoverer of the Hudson Bay. Instead, his name was given the Dutch treatment, becoming Hendrik Hudson. This was befitting his role as a Dutch-American folk hero; though in actuality an Englishman, Henry Hudson was in command of the Dutch East India Company chartered ship Halve Maen [Half Moon] when he made his famous discoveries.

Henry Hudson’s name was not the only thing to receive the Dutch treatment; the new #28 School was designed with a façade evoking Dutch architectural stylings:

The new school was completed and formally opened in 1915:

By 1926, increased student population required the addition of a “temporary” frame extension on the rear of the brick building.

The frame addition can be seen on the below 1926 map:

This “temporary” addition sticks around until at least 1935, where it is again visible on the plat map.

Below, a 1928 compilation of “Rochester in Verse”, included a poem for each of the city schools including #28 School:

It is, of course, an homage to the school’s namesake, Hendrick [Henry] Hudson; each of the poems in the volume riff on the subject after which their school is named.

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1931 Fire

By 1931, overcrowding in #28 School caused a number of portable classrooms to be built behind the building. One of these portables, used as a teacher’s study, caught flame from an overheated pipe and caused a fire.

As a response to the overcrowding, Charles Carroll School #46 would be built at No. 250 Newcastle Road in 1932.

Again, note the frame additions to the back of the school, built in 1926. Either they were removed by the below 1938 Sanborn map, or not taken note of–which is unusual, these maps are usually fairly thorough about taking note of blatant firetraps.

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Wartime Nursery

During World War II, a “wartime nursery” was operated at School #28, where children could be supervised while their parents worked at wartime industries.

#28 School is visible in this circa 1940 aerial looking northeast; Stromberg-Carlson is prominently at the center, and Blossom and University are the streets in the foreground:

Here, I zoom in and crop the area around #28 School for more visibility:

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No. 1037 Atlantic Ave

The grounds of the school were expanded several times throughout the decades by acquiring neighboring lots of land and removing the houses. One of these was No. 1037 Atlantic Avenue, a house which was vacant as of 1939; it was acquired that year and either moved or razed; as of 1940 the address no longer exists.

The 1950 Sanborn map shows No. 1037 Atlantic papered over, no longer extant:

In present day, the location of the whilom house is at the juncture of two sidewalks:

Previous to its vacancy and removal, the property was home to a succession of renters; it was, prior to this, home of Charles Lester Lockwood, who had sold his land off piecemeal to develop Marion Street and to the city for the construction of School #28. Lockwood was part owner in the Community Dairy until 1929.

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1950

The 1950 Sanborn map portrays the grounds as they would have appeared as of, obviously, 1950. As one can see, property to the west belonging to Nos. 1019 & 1031 Atlantic Avenue at this time are now part of the present-day grounds.

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40th Anniversary

1954 marked the 40th anniversary of the opening of School #28, and there was much celebration, with a distinctly Dutch flair to it. A wooden model of a windmill was brought in, and hundreds of tulips were planted in honor of the occasion.

In addition, two men–Andrew Francis Schlageter of No. 216 Carling Road, and Charles A. Krech of No. 126 Delray Road–built a wooden replica of Henry Hudson’s ship, the “Half Moon”.

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1962 Fire

In 1962, fire again swept the school, heavily damaging the sixth grade classroom and one adjacent to it. Classes resumed the next morning, but students were temporarily required to use other rooms.

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No. 1031 Atlantic Ave

Between 1966 and 1967, the playground equipment at the Humboldt Street Playground–rear of #28 School–was entirely replaced and the grounds refurbished; plans were made to expand the play area by purchasing some recently-vacated houses adjacent to school property.

One of these houses was No. 1031 Atlantic Avenue, which had been the home to Richard Leopoldus Ludovicus Clarcq until his death on October 10th, 1967.

The below photo from the D&C shows Arthur Clarcq, son of Richard Clarcq, as part of a huddle; he was on the football team which played at the Humboldt Street Playground:

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The Improved Playground

Having been a student of #28 School who attended the school between 1991 and 1997, this was the playground with which I was familiar. For instance the metal tepee, pictured below, was a piece of playground equipment that enjoyed a central role in schoolyard games. Other pieces included a large shoe with ladders, fireman’s pole and slide; a metal-and-wood firetruck with multiple levels; and the classic bank of swings.

Unfortunately, photos of this bygone playground do not abound. Though I can picture it clearly in my mind, I cannot share those images with you. If anyone reading this happens to have a photo from this playground, please contact me!

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Old #28 Demolished

Come 1968, the old Dutch-style school was considered outdated and undersized. It was set to be demolished and replaced with a larger school of more modern construction.

During the course of the new school’s construction, #28 School students were expected to attend the former Audubon School #33 on the corner of Grand Avenue and Chamberlain Street, which is now Grand Avenue Park. This was, of course, over a mile away and across multiple major streets from #28, which concerned parents. As a response to the parental outcry, busing was provided for these students.

Audubon School #33 itself moved to a new structure at No. 500 Webster Avenue, where it is still located.

After School #28’s removal from No. 250 Grand Avenue, the building would become home to School #10, which would remain there until 1973. The abandoned school would become a target for vandals, and was demolished in 1974.

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New #28 School

Between 1969 and 1971, a new building was constructed for School #28.

The below article shows the architectural drawings for the new school, presumably by Dominguez & Cohen. This was a partnership of two architects: Spanish architect Martín Domínguez Esteban, who had been exiled both from Spain and Cuba during successive dictatorships; and Peter M. Cohen, creator of the “spine and module” style of house construction, notably used in his own home, “Maison Amtrak“. Both, at the time, were Cornell professors and also served as consultants in architectural restoration to the City of Rochester’s Third Ward revitalization efforts.

As you may have noted, at some point Hendrik Hudson made a name change to Henry Hudson; the change seems to have taken place late 1999. The alteration is likely to be more historically accurate: Henry Hudson was in fact an English sea explorer, who happened to be in the employ of the Dutch East India Company during his explorations of the Hudson River and Hudson Bay. Therefore, his name was Dutchified to Hendrick or Hendrik, and he became a folk hero to Dutch-Americans.

One crucial element the above photograph is missing: the circular concrete wall segment with the grass in the middle that used to be at right. At some point prior to 2001 this element was removed and replaced with a “normal” right-angled corner, losing what I believe to be one of the more unique and inviting elements of the front exterior.

An image including the circular area proved impossible to find before time of publication, but evidence of the structure exists in this 1994 satellite photo provided by Google Earth, below:

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Further Changes

Decades of further changes have taken place to the building and its grounds, from new playgrounds to a thorough interior/exterior renovation.

In 1987, an in-ground pool was added east of the Humboldt Recreation Center shelter.

Around the year 2000, an extensive improvement of the playground and recreational areas was undertaken. This included replacement of the playground equipment, replacement of the plunge pool with a spray park, installation of a tennis court and repair of the basketball court, and erection of a shade shelter:

Between 2014 and 2015, a refurbishment of the building was undertaken by Labella Associates.

This would introduce colorful tiled exterior walls on the main entrances, and an extensive redecoration of the inside to create a brighter, less oppressive-feeling space.

Which brings us to the school with which we are familiar today. It’s somewhat familiar yet wholly distinct from the school of my own childhood, but at least it’s the same building. Anyone who attended #28 before 1969 had the misfortune of watching their childhood school torn apart and replaced, something which must inevitably damage the ol’ nostalgia gland.

It’s stunning to think about how many thousands of children poured in and out of this building and its predecessor; what an odd thing, that this narrow strip of land that once served as dairy land would become a second home to a continuous stream of Rochester’s children for over a century.

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