Two Decades of Growth

Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School has enjoyed a major expansion of our physical plant over the last two decades. This expansion would not have been possible without the generous support of the entire school community including trustees, parents, alumni, past parents, foundations, faculty, and friends.

In June of 1984 ground was broken for a long-awaited new preparatory school at 4 West 94th Street. The new building contained a full-sized gymnasium, three science labs, a modern computer lab, a library, three music studios, and nine classrooms. Opened in the fall of 1985, our building allowed the school to increase our enrollment, expand our library, and enhance our athletic program while offering classes in modern, fully equipped classrooms and labs.

With the completion of the new high school building and the enormous demand for additional places in the Grammar School, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the full renovation of an empty, sealed brownstone at 20 West 94th Street. In the spring of 1987, workmen completely gutted the building before transforming it into the five stories of bright, modern classroom space that exists for the Grammar School today. The exterior yard provides a garden and a special play area for pre-K students as well as a covered walkway for all the Grammar School students to use on their way to and from the swimming pool and art classes in 5 West 93rd Street.

There was a time when CGPS parents had to peer through the fog and avoid drops of water falling from the ceiling to catch a glimpse of their children in the swimming pool. In 1988 the pool was over 60 years old and in need of a makeover. After a summer renovation, students came back to a showcase pool outfitted with new windows, heaters, a ventilation system, tiled walls and ceiling, new lighting, and renovated shower rooms. During further renovations in 2002, the lower and upper decks of the pool were retiled and new benches were installed.

CGPS had a unique opportunity to purchase a parcel of land from the city in the early 1990s that led to a 1994 groundbreaking ceremony on the new 36 West 93rd Street building site. By March 1995 the excavation and foundation were complete, and work began in earnest. One year later the new 42,500 square foot, five-story school building was ready for its finishing touches and opened for the school year in September 1996. The building provided a spacious new cafeteria for the Prep School and the school's first legitimate theater space, The Underground. The building also included five art studios, two computer labs, a new library, science labs, and classrooms for our growing student body.

In August 2000 we began yet another building project, a 5-story addition behind the existing 4 West 93rd Street Prep School building. The excavation through bedrock was a challenge, but it did not delay construction. Opened one year later in September 2001, the building offered three floors of classrooms and science labs, a 192 seat, state-of-the-art theater, a full-size gymnasium, and a 14,000 square foot common area for Prep School students.

Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School has grown by 124,000 square feet in the last 20 years, allowing us to provide the most academic space per student of any private school in New York City today. We thank each and every donor for helping us to realize our goals of expanding our school while creating superb academic and athletic facilities for our students.

During the summer of 2005, work crews completed the renovation of a five-story brownstone located just three doors west of the present Grammar School. The spacious facility houses the Admissions Office, the Development/Alumni Office, and provides a meeting room for the Parents Association. The building also has a small but inviting backyard with a beautiful flower garden that has been cultivated with care. Our own secret garden.

The purchase of two brownstones has provided the school with seven contiguous brownstones on West 94th Street as well as beautiful classrooms for Grades, PK, K and 1. All seven brownstones have new exterior walkways and staircases and are fully sprinkled. A new elevator and an indoor gym space with a roof-top play yard further enhance our facilities. A new Science Center built on top of three of the brownstones, which were only four stories high instead of the standard five, now provides two spacious labs for the Grammar School as well.