A while back, I was driving around southern Long Island when I happened to pass by Valley Stream High School.
At first, it seemed like just your typical deco-style public school. But the closer I looked, the more I started to notice a number of really unique little details…
The first thing to catch my eye was over the main entrance…
…which features this fantastic grouping of eagles…
…each holding a lantern righteously in its beak.
I love the whimsical typeface over the door…
On either side are a pair of beautifully detailed globe maps – if you look closely, they appear to be topographical:
Here’s the opposite side – note the ships making their way around the south:
Crowning off the building is this gorgeous clock tower cupola, complete with four owls standing at attention. Would love to know if this still lights up (note: if you ever need to conduct electricity from a sudden clock tower lightning strike into a flux capacitor unit, this wouldn’t be a half bad place to do it).
The main building is flanked on either side by two smaller structures – first, the gym…
LOVE the typeface:
More of those great lanterns…
Above the doors, a suitably deco He-man runs through the clouds at Flash-like speeds, indicating the exact opposite of my typical performance in high school gym:
The twin structure on the opposite side houses the auditorium…
Again, with that great typeface:
Here, a drama motif:
A few more little details – original plant potters still in use…
Finally, the Boys and Girls entrance signs are still in place…
…beneath some trademark ornamentation:
Built in 1929, the school was the first to be designed by Frederic Wiedersum. Today, Wiedersum Associates Architects is one of the oldest family owned architectural firms in the US.
To me, the beauty of deco is as much in its simple ornamentation as it is in its basic geometry. Sadly, it feels like American public schools decided at some point to forgo the former and go crazy with the latter, leading to the austere, prison-like structures we have today.
Really refreshing to pass by a place like Valley Stream High School and be reminded that there actually was a time when people cared.
-SCOUT
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