Dawn breaks in a crumbling classroom.
School’s out forever; at least at P.S. 186. This aging beauty has loomed over West Harlem’s 145th Street for 111 years—but it’s been vacant exactly a third of that time. The Italian Renaissance structure was considered dilapidated when it shuttered 37 years ago, and today its interiors feel more sepulchral than scholastic.
Nature reclaims the school’s top floor.
Windows gape on four of its five stories, exposing classrooms to a barrage of elements. Spongy wood flooring, wafer-thin in spots, supports a profusion of weeds. Adolescent saplings reach upward through skylights and arch through windows. They’re stripped of their foliage on this unseasonably warm February morning, lending an atmosphere of melancholy to an already gloomy interior. Infused with an odor not unlike an antiquarian book collection, upper floors harbor a population of hundreds of mummified pigeon carcasses—the overall effect is grim. You’d never guess this building had an owner, but sure enough…
The site was purchased in 1986 by the nonprofit Boys and Girls Club of Harlem for $215,000 under the condition that new development would be completed within three years. After several decades of inactivity, the group introduced a redevelopment plan that called for the demolition of P.S. 186 and the construction of a 200,000 sq. ft. mixed-use facility with affordable housing, commercial and community space, and a new public school…
News of the school’s demolition mobilized area residents to save the structure. A series of local petitions and letter-writing campaigns championed the preservation of P.S. 186, and gained the support of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, though a landmark bid was blocked at a 2010 community board meeting. At the time, owners insisted that rehabilitating the decrepit building was a financial impossibility.
In a surprising turn of events, the BGCH recently downsized the plan in favor of preservation. The school will be renovated into 90 units of affordable housing and a new Boys and Girls Club.
It’s a rare victory for preservationists, and an unlikely one given the school’s history—when the building was last in use, community members wanted nothing more than to see the place razed.
From the New York Times Archives, NEGRO officials take over P.S. 186.
In addition to generally run-down conditions, safety became a major concern at P.S. 186 in its final years. The H-shaped design allegedly had the potential to trap “hundreds of children and teachers” in the event of a fire. Doors on the bottom floor were to remain open at all times to keep the outdated floor plan up to code, leaving the building completely vulnerable to neighborhood crime.
According to the school’s principal at the time, “parents have been robbed in here at knife point, and people…use this building as a through-way.” In a 1972 incident, two youths, including the 17-year-old brother of a 5-year-old P.S. 186 student, broke into room 407 and raped a teacher’s aide at gunpoint.
Increasing community concern reached a boiling point earlier that year when 60 members of the African American empowerment group NEGRO (National Economic Growth and Reconstruction Organization) moved into the school to call for an evacuation of 600 students on the top three floors.
The stunt caught the attention of the Fire Department, who toured the school later that week. A deputy chief “didn’t see any real hazardous problem,” but was forced to evacuate the remaining 900 students when he was unable to activate the fire alarm. Inspectors discovered that wires leading out of the alarm system had been cut, although a school custodian claimed that the alarm system had worked during a routine test at 7:30 that morning.
By 1975, funding was at last approved for a replacement school, and much to the relief of parents, plans were put in place for the immediate demolition of the aging fire trap. Who could predict that thirty-seven years later P.S. 186 would be getting a second chance?
The ground floor.
A few decades ago, this school was described as “antiquated,” “unsafe,” and “plain,” but today, it’s called “historic,” “magnificent,” and “beautifully designed.” This reversal illustrates the complex relationship we New Yorkers have with our buildings, and begs the question: what might the the thousands of old structures we see torn down every year have meant to us in a century?
It’s been a few months since I’ve set foot in the building, and today the visit feels like a half-remembered dream.
To keep vagrants out, cinderblocks had been installed in almost every window and door of the bottom floor. It looked too dark to shoot—but as my eyes started to adjust, I saw that light was finding its way in. Through every masonry crack and plaster aperture, bands of color projected onto decaying classrooms, vibrant variations on a pinhole camera effect. Past a vault inexplicably filled with tree limbs, a hall of camera obscuras each hosting an optical phenomenon more bewitching than the last. P.S. 186 is largely considered an eyesore in its current state, but who could deny that its interior is a thing of beauty?
However photogenic, this decay does little good for its underserved community—it’s the sort of oddity this city doesn’t have room for. Here’s a look inside, before we turn the page on what’s destined to be the most colorful chapter in the controversial, and continuing, history of this unofficial Harlem landmark.
-Will Ellis
Decaying seats in the auditorium.
The view from center stage.
Behind flaking slate chalkboards, pencilled measurements dating to their original installation in the early 1900s.
Buckling floors in this classroom were in relatively good condition.
…Some areas of the top floor nurtured a fledgling arboretum.
The damaging effects of water put on display in a weedy gymnasium.
An exit still clearly marked.
One of hundreds of pigeon carcasses found throughout the building.
From the entrance.
View of the east wing.
A ravaged classroom on the top floor..
…and an identical room 5 stories down.
Ominous light on the bottom floor of P.S. 186.
A certain slant of light gives this room the look of an unholy nativity.
Rubble collects on the ground floor.
Blue skies reflect three stories down onto a grand staircase littered with debris.
A Rainbow in Harlem.
AbandonedNYC 
Wow!! Great pictures and story.
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Posted by Robert Ellis | 7-8-12., 12:38 pmI need one alplay por this buildeng
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Posted by Anonymous | 9-13-15., 1:18 pmGreat photos! Would you mind if we shared this on the Hamilton Heights Facebook page? http://www.facebook.com/HamiltonHeights Thanks!
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Posted by kate | 7-9-12., 2:48 pmPlease do! I’m especially eager to share this with those in the affected community, would love to hear any memories of the school or opinions about what’s being done with the place.
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Posted by abandonednyc | 7-9-12., 6:43 pmI would like to know, does this space still exist or has it been renovated or demolished. I would also like to use these photos in a music video, Would you grant me permission and if so please email them to me?
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Posted by Mary | 5-25-14., 12:07 amI am from Harlem. I went to P.S. 186 in 1968-1969. I am devastated at the decay of the building. A lot of memories there. I also went to Stitt Jr. High School. It also is closed. What is happening to our neighborhoods and schools?
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Posted by Anonymous | 6-2-16., 4:08 pmYour article is so interesting. They have turned the building into gorgeous luxury apartments that house the boys & girls club on the 145th street sides, and apartments on the back 146th Street side and they are nice with new floors & appliances. Never would have imagined the building looked like this.
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Posted by BeeFromNYC | 10-26-16., 4:34 pmThis article is great. Your entire site is amazing. Thank you for sharing!
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Posted by Leisa | 7-9-12., 2:58 pmThe pictures are beautiful, I do hope they attempt to maintain all if not most of the original details in the restoration process. That staircase is just to wonderful to be thrown away! Excellent job!
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Posted by David FH McEniry | 7-10-12., 12:09 pmwow, this is so interesting… amazing photos.
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Posted by justcooknyc | 7-10-12., 1:46 pmamazing photos. I’m a photographer myself, would i need to contact someone to get permission to go in and take photos, or would i be able to walk in?
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Posted by Omar Khan (@omarkhan80) | 7-11-12., 10:24 amAmazing photos! I too wonder if you are allowed to go by and take a peak or if special permission is required. Also, im travelling from Los Angeles and plan to see Dead Horse Bay. Are there other spots like that I can find out about. Abandoned sites fascinate me so much!
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Posted by Debra | 7-15-12., 12:42 pmThese pictures are wonderful. I went to first grade at PS 186 in 1968. I recall lining up in the courtyard in the mornings and the booming sound of kids gathered on the first floor. Inside the school was huge, and being a kind of goofy kid I was constantly getting lost and walking down the long halls and strange hallways. My godmother went there in the 1940s and said it was a great school, but by the late ’60s, PS 186 was rough and I was sometimes bullied. At the urging of my teacher, mom sent me to private school the following year. Still, having grown-up in the neighborhood, the building has long amazed me, especially in its declining years. Hope you post more pictures soon.
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Posted by Michael A. Gonzales | 9-24-12., 9:37 amI went to PS 186 from 1964 to 1969 (Fifth Grade, the last grade). I had fond memories of the school and remember the Music Room on the first floor and the lunchroom. I also remember going to Woolworth’s on 146th Street, Broadway, during lunchtime and getting a bag of popcorn for 10 cents. I remember all my teachers who were named: Mrs. Rosenthal (kindergarten), Ms. Friedman (1st grade), Miss Stein (2nd grade), Miss Dansen (3rd grade), Mr. Gibson (only black teacher, 4th grade), and Mrs. King (5th grade). The best education. After graduation, they wanted to send me to Stitt Junior High but instead I attended Our Lady of Lourdes from 1969 to 1971.Anyone out there from the Class of 1969?
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Posted by Nancy Delgado | 5-6-16., 4:03 pmI was a fourth grade teacher here in the late 60s and into the 70s. When the school closed we went to the new 153.
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Posted by Lawrence Friedlander | 4-14-21., 2:54 pmThese pictures of P.S. 186 in Harlem are phenomenal! We never knew the back story of the old abandoned building, but you obviously went digging for some quality details. If the structure weren’t so unsafe, this would make a great historical tour or something of that nature. It will be interesting to see what becomes of the new development.
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Posted by Sovereign Associates | 10-4-12., 5:17 pmYou inspire me all the time. I got caught at Grossinger’s yesterday and asked to leave. I am amazed at the places you get into! Letchworth is a regular stop as I live close by. I’d love to go with you on an adventure anytime!
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Posted by lorrainem | 4-14-13., 8:32 pmThanks so much Lorraine! Sorry to hear about your bad luck at Grossinger’s, I hope you at least got to see the swimming pool. Letchworth Village is such an unforgettable place, I camped at Harriman for a weekend and still wasn’t able to see the whole thing.
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Posted by abandonednyc | 4-15-13., 9:55 amWOW! Great images, nicely framed. I found myself walking through the halls as I viewed each image.
I graduated from that elementary school in 1971. When I return home to my neighborhood, I am delighted to see the growth and change that occurred during the past few decades. However, I am sadden each time I walk around the entire block…from Broadway and 145th street, east to Amsterdam Ave, North to 146th, street, and south to Broadway…to see how this structure is the biggest eyesore in this part of Harlem.
This structure (or what is left of it) needs to become a vibrant part of Sugar Hill again!
I am media producer and I am considering producing a documentary on the history of that structure, the students, teachers and staff that were there during the late 60’s and seventies.
Anyone interested in discussing this, send me an email to mike@dunbarwalkerproductions.com
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Posted by Michael Walker | 6-5-13., 12:14 pmPlease make sure that this development is not given to HPD….I live in PS90 and although our building looks great from the outside their is construction defects by BFC&L&M Management. Sponsor is corrupt on so many levels.
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Posted by PS90 | 6-5-13., 12:18 pmI just got back from visiting the school. It was incredible. If you’re there, you should definitely check out the view from the roof! There’s a ladder in one of the arboritum-like rooms on the top floor. There are holes all over the roof but there’s a spot with two cinderblock and brick bench-type things someone made. A really peaceful end to a fabulous visit. And the book room’s amazing too–a small, closet like room full of all these old books from the school. Some were as old as from 1940.
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Posted by roryminelorMinelor | 6-6-13., 6:59 pmAwesome, I plan on going very soon…was there any problems entering ?
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Posted by Kyle Wilson | 6-17-13., 3:07 pmI actually found it very easy to enter. The door has a sign that says “Do Not Enter” or something to that effect, but it is wide open and leads straight to the courtyard, from which you can easily climb up a ladder that leads to one of the bottom windows. The only advice I have for you is that there are sometimes cops outside of the entrance, or security officers. Make sure to enter only when they are either gone or otherwise occupied. We had to wait a few hours before going in.
Also make SURE you bring a really powerful flashlight. Many of the upper floors are well lit, but finding the stairs from the lobby is terrifying without proper light.
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Posted by roryminelor | 6-17-13., 3:57 pmHow would you go about having this building restored in order to house mothers who are suffering from the disease of substance abuse and helping them to learn to deal with their children and how to live independently, or is that even possible. Since this would be considered a historical landmark.
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Posted by Jacquelyn Pope | 6-26-13., 5:33 pmAny chance you have been inside of thr abandoned public school building that has been scaffolded for the last 20 years @ 147th and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx? I love the photographs of PS 186. Thank you
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Posted by Sylvia | 7-2-13., 1:59 pmi to wonder if you could walk in and take photographs or if you have to ask someone for permission to do so
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Posted by Tafy | 8-11-13., 7:16 pmI am so glad that this building would be useful, beside what happened I wish this would it continued be school but hey theres soooo much people into shelter wish this workout for the I live in west 144street thank lord this bringing a new change walking by and seen there was nothing done was depressing but the lord hear every one prayer hopefully this affordable housing comes handy for those that needs it with bad credict or not that stills in a shelter for a mest up credict
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Posted by ruthy | 11-27-13., 3:00 amAlso the holy pict shows a woman long hair with glasses in a typing machine no lie you clearly see it in the wall great pictures
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Posted by ruthy | 11-27-13., 3:02 amI went, it was glorious.
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Posted by Natalie | 12-15-13., 4:36 pmWas it hard to get in? I would love to see it when I visit NY, are there guards or can you go and walk around without much notice?
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Posted by Debra | 12-29-13., 3:59 pmwow – I was a student here back in the 50s. makes me want to check out JHS43 where I went to Junior High.
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Posted by Jim | 1-17-14., 11:02 pmHi Jim I was also a student back in the 50s but went JHS 164 .
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Posted by Rabb | 10-22-16., 7:33 pmRabb, Jim, I went to first and 2nd grade at 186 in 1957-1958 and 1958-1959, respectively (then transferred to the Wright Bros School, 155th Street, then JHS 164 as well). Mrs Saltzman (?) was my first-grade teacher, young and very kind to me and Mrs Dulsky was my second grade teacher (grandmotherly and a very good teacher). God bless all the wonderful teachers of the NYC school system.
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Posted by phil | 6-5-17., 3:44 amSo nice to have someone else remember Mrs. Dulsky, She was the greatest.
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Posted by Anonymous | 6-25-17., 11:52 amHi! I am a freelance reporter wondering if I could possibly use some of your shots if I am unable to get in myself! Thanks!
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Posted by 101bots | 4-6-14., 2:20 pmHow dangerous is it to go in there?
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Posted by machu22 | 4-7-14., 7:30 pmIt’s fairly dangerous, the lower floors are pretty structurally sound, but there are a lot of sections in the upper floors that might be prone to collapse. Tread carefully!
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Posted by Will Ellis | 4-17-14., 10:58 amI really need to take pictures in abandoned places and I really wanted to go there. Would I be able to go there anytime or do I need a special permission to get in. And do know of any other open abandoned places in new York that I could shoot in??
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Posted by Anonymous | 2-10-15., 3:39 pmI’m working on a project and I need to shoot in abandoned places. I was wondering if I could go inside this school anytime or I need a special permission to enter? And do you know of any other open abandoned places u could shoot in in new York? 🙂
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Posted by Maryam | 2-10-15., 3:43 pmI went to this school from 1964-1967. The first (top) picture looks like my kindergarten classroom on the first floor.
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Posted by Eddy | 9-11-14., 5:17 pmI taught in this school from 1970 until its closing when we move temporarily to a movie theater on Broadway and 146th street before moving into our new building on Amsterdam Ave between 146th and 147th named after Adam Clayton Powell – PS 153… I took many great photographs of the kids in the schoolyard at PS186.
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Posted by Jamie Breslau | 10-26-14., 8:59 amWow, That means i attended my last class at 186, i remember the principle Mr Lomax……….my name is Leon Lassiter.
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Posted by Leon | 7-1-15., 8:48 pmHi, I remember going there it was my uncles graduation, and I had to go to our niegboring school P.S. 28
Until 153 was built
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Posted by Anonymous | 7-18-15., 10:19 amI remember you Jamie…
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Posted by Lawrence Friedlander | 4-14-21., 2:57 pmEddy, I attended this school from 1964 to 1969. Maybe you are Edward who attended Mrs. Rosenthal’s kindergarten class with Linda (whom you had a crush) and me, nancy? If not, okay, we attended at the same time.
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Posted by Nancy Delgado | 5-6-16., 4:07 pmmy name is edward do i know you ? edward.mollette.fdny@gmail.com
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Posted by Anonymous | 9-2-20., 8:44 pmAppreciation to my father who told me concerning this blog, this weblog is really remarkable.
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Posted by Dwight | 11-18-14., 1:44 pmI attended this school from 1961-1964 to bad it’s taken 50yrs It was suppose to be renovated in the 70’s what are they going to do with those beams that run from the basement to the roof and the coal furnaces.I understand the school is suppose to be turned into affordable apartments it’s under construction as of July 2015
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Posted by Reggie | 8-23-15., 12:47 pmI attended PS 186 in the late 30’s and graduated in 1943. It was a beautiful school and am so glad it will be renovate and preserved. So many memories there. I remember two of the men teachers being drafted and going off to WW II. My family left in NY in 1943 so I never knew if they came back safely. Does anyone remember that the actress Bette Davis attended there I believe in the 20’s. There is a lot of history that could be written. Please keep me updated.
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Posted by Anne O;Reilly Swords | 10-9-15., 4:34 pmI lived in the area of this school as a child of the 80s. I never understood why the school sat abandon. Thanks for sheding the light. Such beautiful schools should never go to waste. In memorial. A school I actually attended, but was torn down. PS 179.
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Posted by Christopher Brunson | 11-26-15., 8:18 amThey should demolish the school it has been sitting there as an eye sore for many years
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Posted by RANDY | 1-23-16., 7:51 amI went to p.s.186 in 1967-and 1968. It was a beautiful school. The décor was beautiful and I remember the school being huge. I live on 146 street between St Nicholas and Convent Avenue. I would walk up the hill to school. I remembered being bullied. I loved the fact that you can enter the building from 145 street or 146 street depending on where you lived. The court yard where we played was full with other kids. I loved that school. Hate to see it in total ruin.
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Posted by Anonymous | 6-2-16., 4:18 pmI was a teacher at P S 186 from 1963-1969. Would love to hear from my former students.Marty Desatnik
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Posted by Anonymous | 11-12-17., 9:55 pmI attended PS 186 during that time, my teachers were Mrs. Rosenthal, Mrs. Stein, Mrs Danson, Mr. Gibson, and Mrs. King. I still remember there names like it was yesterday. I even remember the buttons they gave for having a good report card. I had fond memories of all my great teachers during that time.
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Posted by Nancy Delgado Krelios | 11-27-19., 9:24 pmMy aunt lived in the same block with this school and I used to hate seeing this school abandoned and I’m glad there saving it and doing something positive with it instead of demolishing it.
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Posted by Anonymous | 12-10-17., 1:39 pmHi my name is Edward Foster I went to school here in early 60s had a wonderful time I love to school I love you teacher and staff it’s a shame that the school had went to waste and stop studying everytime I come to Manhattan I always goes back to the school and look at the building I loved it so much has so much fun there when some of the nicest friends had a wonderful time wonderful teachers but teacher used to click a bank book from all the students and every week we put money in our bank booking the teacher come around classic once a week and put it in the bank for us but as we got older and move on to higher School level we never receive our bank book back the money that we put in through the years that we went to the school from first grade to 5th grade I was just wondering what ever happened to our bank book that the school was collecting from us they come in to give us a bank book we go through it we put money in she collects the bank but put it in the bank it does that once a week but whatever happened to all that money that we put in our bed bug we never received it back never receive a pink bookbag my number is area code 315 571 5486 if you could give me a call either where the bank that they put it in I know it was a bank around the corner from the school so I wanted that bank still there because that were or money was hell I really really appreciate it I’m sorry for the school that will condemn God bless that school bless everyone that who I go in there and been there thank you please get back
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Posted by Edward Foster | 4-27-18., 4:31 amDear Eddie,
I think we went to school together. Did you have Mrs. Rosenthal in kingergarten? Anyway, the bank involving those bank books was The Bowery located on 145th street and St. Nicholas Avenue.
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Posted by Nancy Delgado Krelios | 11-27-19., 9:26 pmI remember the bank books from the Bowery Bank. Every Monday we bought the books in with our dime, knickle, quarter or whatever our moms could afford to give that week. Memories
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Posted by Chantell | 12-23-20., 12:33 amMost likely checks were sent to the parents once the banking program stopped
or the parents withdrew the money. We just did not realize it.
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Posted by Chantell | 12-23-20., 12:35 amMy whole family went to p.s. 186 me from 1966 kindergarten to fifth grade than went to Stitt. My mother was once the pta president in the 60s she help to make sure that the students have a better school in Harlem p.s. 153 I remember getting out of school and run to the candy store on 145th the time it just cost a penny for candy I was in 1-1 2-3 3-3 4-3 5-4 forget the teachers name I remember the stair cade that look into the main office.
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Posted by Wayne | 4-27-20., 6:53 amMy 1 brother and 4 sisters went to P.S.186 me 1965 to 1970 kindergarten to fifth grade 1-1 2-3 3-3 4-2 5-3 forget I remember the stair case that the main office was at and playing dodgeball when I got to the 3rd or 4th grade and going to the candy store on 145th good memoris and my mom was the pta president some of the years she help getting a newer school in Harlem she was out there making sure the black people they deserve taking on with the racial riots at George Washington H.S. I’m glad they recycled the school building.
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Posted by Wayne | 4-27-20., 2:54 pmi went to school there from 1969 – 1972 then was bused downtown. i think you bullied me
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Posted by Anonymous | 9-2-20., 8:42 pmi went to school here wow !!!
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Posted by Anonymous | 9-2-20., 8:39 pmI attended P.S. 186 from pre-k to 3rd grade and then we transfered to the brand new building on 146th and Amsterdam. I remember standing on line crying on immunization days. I remember the ladies selling one cent cookies from boxes and placing them in brown paper bags if you bought more than one cookie. I remember reading “Dick and Jane” books in 1st grade and it being too easy. I remember copying “Class News” everyday from the chalk board. I remember playing in the yard. I remember the man on a truck pouring coal down into the basement to heat the school. I didn’t know what is was for but I remember it. I came across this article because I was wondering why it sat there for many years abandoned. I am 54 years old now.
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Posted by Chantell Toure | 12-23-20., 12:30 amI attended P.S.186 from Sep 1948 to June 1955 and believe me I never thought of it as anything other than a school to leave and move on. I liked some teachers better than others, fell totally in love with my 5th grade teacher to the point that I became his personal lunch getter & delivery girl…..that is until one of my mother”s friends saw me on Broadway at a time I should”ve been in school. That put an end to that & I think an end to that poor guy”s stint at my school…never saw him again!
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Posted by L.A.Hudson | 1-26-21., 1:48 pmsorry…math has never been my strong suit. Attended from age 7 to 12 when we graduated from the 6th grade
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Posted by L.A.Hudson | 1-26-21., 2:30 pmHow do I get a copy of the kids enrollment in 1948 and 1949?
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Posted by CARL JONES | 8-15-21., 2:59 amMy grandfather, Joseph M B Allen, was valedictorian of PS 186 in 1910!
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Posted by Anonymous | 3-14-22., 8:58 pmany body remember the glee club
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Posted by Michael Gonzales | 5-1-22., 12:15 amI was transferred to ps186 from ps123 to attend 4th grade in 1964 as I was in the IGC program. I remember the dodgeball. being played in the courtyard too. Enjoy ed my time there before moving to VA the nextyear.
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Posted by Rudolph McCollum | 7-18-23., 1:33 am