History

History of Building/Courtyard: 

A deep-rooted history can be seen throughout time in our school's courtyard. In 1924 the first sketches and ideas of the school came to be. It was a women's dorm building for Eastman School of Music, with the cost to build estimated to be around $260,000. Gordon & Kaelber was the firm in charge of planning this structure, which would accommodate 120 young women. It was planned for around the fall of 1926, though it became available even earlier in 1925. The newly built dorms were named after Francis Hopkinson, the first American-born composer of distinction, Edward A. MacDowell, ranked at the top of American composers, and Stephen C. Foster, author of sentimental ballads and popular melodies like "My Old Kentucky Home." Their names can be seen above the doorways in the courtyard.

Today, our community is still blessed with someone who used to live in these dorms. Teryle Watson lived in the Prince St. dorms as a fresh college student. She began her training at Julliard School of Music at age five in piano, voice and music theory. She went from sleeping and living in the dorms, to eventually having three of her four children attend School of the Arts. She became the conductor of the Inter-High School Choice for the RCSD and the Rochester Peace Child Choir. Her love of Musical Theatre has been witnessed in over fifty productions she has directed in this area. Two musicals, Big River and Ragtime, both School of the Arts productions won the Best Musical Award given by the Rochester Broadway Theatre League. She is still very prominent in the music community and inspiring the music industry. 

It’s incredible to see the amount of time that has passed since the beginning of this building. The class of 2024 will be graduating during the 100th year of the idea of the School of the Arts building. The class of 2025 will be graduating 100 years after the first girls walked into their fresh dorm rooms. There is a deep history here at this school, with many people before us getting inspired for their future.