The Jersey City news., 1902-06-10
LOTS TO SELL
Real Estate Dealers Anxious
to Give the City the
Best High School
Site.
PUZZLE FOR CITY OFFICIALS
Many Things to Be Consider
ed for Both City and
School in Selecting
Site.
PUZZLE FOR CITY OFFICIALS

Both the Boards of Finance and Edu-
cation will have nice problem to solve
during the coming hot weather. The city
needs badly a new High School. and the
gentlemen of the Board of Finance, who
hold the purse strings, are going to loosen
them and hand out s5Oo,00O for that pur-
pose.
The money on hand, the next question
is where to build the school, and there's
the rub Fortunately there are p.enty OF
available sites, but there are great
many things to be borne in mind before
a site is purchased. The Board of Edu-
caticn will have to make the selection
and the Board of Finance will approve
One of the. first things to be considered
so far as the school is concerned is that
the site should be large enough for not
only the present but future, SO that as
time makes demands an addition can be
made to the school without the city hav-
ing to buy any more land.
Then the site must be capable of good
drainage, accessible from all points of thu
city and by one fare on the trolleys, an
important thing. It must be located in a
place where light and air cannot be cut
off and there is no noise. It must not be
located on a business street, but in some
commanding position where it can he seen
by citizens and strangers, not hidden
away, but monument to the progress of
the city in matters educational,
From a municipal point of view it
should be built where it could benefit the
taxable property in the neighborhood. 1t
should not be placed on purely business
street for that. it has been found, has
operated adversely to the interests of a
business quarter In word, 1t must not
injure property. but if possible, increase
its value. Lastly the site must be large
enough so that the site mustn't deter
mine the shape or size of the building
that must not be restricted in anyway
With all these desiderata in mind the
puzzle Is: Find the site.
Already many have been mentioned, and
after a sitting and selection the best
places in view of the Board are these
Harrison estate on Newark avenue.
Estate of the late Charles B. Thurston,
consisting of eleven city lots, fronting on
SIP and Garrison avenues.
Plot of land on Hoboken avenue bound
Cd by Fleet street, Oakland and Baldwin
avenues, owned BY the Continental In
vestment Company. consisting of forty
one city lots.
j. o. Winner property. corner of Bergen
avenue and Montgomery street.
Plot on Mercer street, between Baldwin
avenue and Mercer street.
Property belonging to W. H. Speer on
Harrison avenue and Park street
Plot on Summit avenue, opposite Astor
place.
Plot on the Boulevard, between Fair
mount avenue and Montgomery street.
Plot on Boulevard. between Fairview
and Duncan avenues.
Van Reypen property, on the Boulevard.
Any of these would, it is said. make an
admirable site. and the prices quoted are
within reason. In some of the plots men
toned there are houses on the land which
could of course, be sold and removed.
It has been pointed out that in select
ing the site for new High School some
consideration should be shown to the part
of the city furnishing the most pupils to
the school. Two years ago, when the
High School sites were being discussed.
Superintendent Snyder made a canvass
and found that on the Hill there were
more pupils attending the High School
from the south of Montgomery street
than the north. and in the down town
district the majority of pupils came from
the south of Newark avenue. The up
town wards-Tenth, Eleventh and
Twelfth-would send more pupils to the
new building If located in more accessi-
BILE place than the present structure. To-
day pupils from these places have a long
distance to travel by devious routes, us
ing two trolley roads. A central site
would therefore appear to be desirable
but wher 1t shall be is what the official
Boards mentioned must find out. Find
out they will and the dicky birds say that
before the year is out the foundation
stone will be laid by Mayor Pagan.