This article was first published in 1993. It is from the first edition of the 10th volume of The Classic. This article was chosen as a throwback to when the building THHS is in now was under construction and getting ready for the September 1994 opening.
New Building Reaches New Heights
What was once a series of small sample drilling holes in a vacant parking lot in 1990 has grown into an almost completely enclosed school building. The new Townsend Harris High School on the Queens College campus has 97% of its outside brickwork in place. The growth of the 173,000-square-foot learning facility is rapidly becoming apparent.
Sixty-eight percent of the building is now complete. The five-hundred-seat auditorium is now fully enclosed, the floor is poured, and the interior walls are going up. The 400 windows are to be installed this fall, and the outside of the building should be finished by the scheduled date.
Work has progressed fairly smoothly, according to project construction manager Sam Gordon. “We have delays here and there but nothing major,” he said. Board of Education representatives anticipate that the school, which will comfortably house 1050 students, will be ready for its proposed September 1994 opening.
The new facilities will include full student and faculty cafeterias, a courtyard, one and a half gyms, including one with bleachers, and a Student Union suite with separate cubicles for student-run organiza-tions.
Construction on the inside of the building will continue during the winter. Many contractors will work on developing the engineering details of various systems, while the more aesthetic qualities of the interior will also continue to evolve. Orders will soon be placed for furniture, computers and other essentials.
Principal Malcolm Largmann, Assistant Principal of Organization
Malcolm Rossman, Assistant Principal of Mathematics Harry Rattien and several faculty members put on hard hats and received a tour of the building earlier this month. Dr. Largmann saw the site of his office-to-be, which will come with an adjacent conference room.
“Walking through that building gave me the most exhilarating feeling I’ve had since I started in this school,” said Mr. Rattien. “We will be in the newest, most modern and most beautiful facility I have ever seen. This place is going to be amazing.”
“I once stood in the middle of [Queens College] parking field six,”said Mr. Rossman,
“and looked at a tiny little drilling sample hole and wondered what our high school would really look like. Last July 1 actually walked across each floor of what had been only a dream. Now I can almost feel, touch, and smell the finished product.”
