Immaculate Conception School Closes After
175 Years

IMAGES BY MIDDLE SCHOOL 1  STUDENTS

Published on June 4, 2025

The Immaculate Conception School (ICS), located at 151st street and Melrose Avenue, has been a long-standing constant in its South Bronx community. The school first opened in 1854, with an initial student enrollment of only 40 students. The school has grown exponentially since then, now serving over 370 students between grades Pre-K through eighth. However, after 175 years of service, the office of the Superintendent of Schools of the Archdiocese of New York made a statement in January 2025, announcing the closing of ICS. Brilla Public Charter Schools, a network of free, high-performing public charter schools in the Bronx, plans to relocate Brilla Pax and Brilla Veritas Middle schools into the buildings.

The Bronx Documentary Center’s Youth Photo League has historically been intrinsically connected with ICS, with the first YPL class in 2013 consisting mainly of students from the Catholic school. Our middle school 1 class (MS1), was created for ICS students alone, and now these same students grieve the loss of their school.  For the BDC’s year-end YPL exhibition, the students of MS1 decided to document their final months at their beloved school. They interviewed current and former teachers, community members who attended the school, and included their own accounts of how everyday life felt within the walls of ICS.

This project is a final farewell to the building that shaped them—a tribute to the school and its neighborhood community, as it prepares to close its doors for the last time.