Campus
The school buildings are situated at the rear of a plot of land, fronted by two lakes, and 'Huguenot Park'. The forty-three acres of land that comprise the park, including what is now “Twin Lakes”, were acquired by the City in 1923 as the site for the community’s new high school and a park. At the time, the twin lakes were one large lake which had been used for an ice manufacturing business by the Mahlstedt family. At the southeast corner of the property is the Mahlstedt house where three generations of the family lived while operating their ice business at the lake. When the City purchased the land in 1923, the house became the Huguenot Branch of the New Rochelle Public Library.
A white marble World War II Marines Memorial is located near the causeway leading to the High School from North Avenue. The monument was dedicated on June 3, 1949 to the 15 New Rochelle Marines who died while fighting in the war.
The high school is designed in the French-Gothic style by the noted architectural firm of Guilbert and Betelle. It includes a working clock tower, indoor swimming facilities, eight tennis courts, three football fields, an outdoor track, a television station and a planetarium. The planetarium can hold 84 viewers and uses a 'Spitz Scidome', 360 degree fulldome video projector with ATM-4 automation and a 5.1 surround sound audio system.
On May 17, 1968, school buildings dating from the 1920s and 1930s were destroyed by arson. A 16-year old high school student with a history of setting fires to attract attention was arrested for the arson. Additions made to school buildings in 1959 and 1960 were not affected. Fire insurance allowed the school to rebuild while displaced students were accommodated at local junior high schools under a time-sharing arrangement.
On August 15, 2008, New Rochelle High School was struck by lightning. The resulting fire badly damaged the building's distinctive spire. The fire occurred just two months after the 40th anniversary of the 1968 arson fire that destroyed much of the school.
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