page_title: Pratt Institute
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: Pratt Institute / History / Early years
caption_attribution_description: English: Children of Pratt Institute Kindergarten, Brooklyn, New York, gardening
context_page_description: Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York. The school originated in 1887 with programs primarily in engineering, architecture, and fine arts. Comprising six schools, the Institute is primarily known for its highly ranked programs in architecture, interior design, and industrial design, and offers both undergraduate and master's degree programs in a variety of fields, with a strong focus on research.
context_section_description: Enrollment grew steadily since inception. Six months after inception the school had an enrollment of nearly 600 students. By the first anniversary of the school there were 1,000 students in attendance. In five years time the school had nearly 4,000 students.  In 1888 Scientific American said of the school that "it is undoubtedly the most important enterprise of its kind in this country, if not in the world". Andrew Carnegie even visited Pratt for inspiration and used the school as a model in developing Carnegie Technical Schools, now Carnegie Mellon University.  At the first Founders Day celebration in 1888, Charles Pratt addressed what would become the school's motto: "be true to your work and your work will be true to you" meaning that students should educate and develop themselves diligently and go out into the world working hard, giving all of themselves.
  As public interest grew in the school and demand increased the school began adding new programs including the Pratt High School, Library School, Music Department, and Department of Commerce. Because of the overwhelming popularity of the Department of Commerce, the department broke off from the main institute and formed its own school, under the guidance of Norman P. Heffley, personal secretary to Charles Pratt. The Heffley School of Commerce, the former Pratt Department of Commerce, originally having shared facilities with Pratt evolved into what is now Brooklyn Law School.
  In 1891, the institute's founder and first president, Charles Pratt, died and his eldest son, Charles Millard Pratt, assumed responsibility of president for the school. In 1893, Charles Pratt's other son, Frederic B. Pratt, was elected President of Pratt Institute taking over from his elder brother. Because Charles Pratt Snr. died so soon after the college was founded, Frederic Pratt is ascribed with guiding the college through its early decades. Under the direction of Pratt's sons, the institute was able to thrive both financially and critically with many new construction projects and courses. By 1892, the number of students enrolled was 3,900. In 1897 the most popular major for students was domestic arts.
  In 1896, the school opened its monumental Victorian-Renaissance Revival library with interiors designed by the Tiffany Decorating and Glass Company and sprawling gardens outside the library. The library was available not just for students but to the general public as well. The Pratt Institute Library was the first and only public library in Brooklyn for nearly 15 years. Additionally, the library served as a working classroom for the training of librarians and is cited as one of the first schools of Library science. The Pratt Institute Library also made available the first reading room for children in New York City.
  By the turn of the century, The School of Science and Technology had become Pratt's most prestigious and well known school comprised most of the school's enrollment  Across from East Building on Grand Avenue, the institute constructed a new quad dedicated specifically for the engineering school. Constructed over a period of a quarter of a century, the Chemistry, Machinery, and Engineering buildings were constructed in the same architecture style, unifying all disciplines offered by the School. Pratt also had a large variety of courses dedicated specifically for women during this time. Some of the 25 courses women could partake in included library science, nursing, home economics, and fashion.
  By 1910, all of the departments of the institute were organized as individual schools including the Library School, School of Domestic Science, School of Fine and Applied Arts, and the School of Science and Technology.
caption: Pratt Institute Kindergarten, 1905
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