I found these photos of St. John Villa Academy in the New York Public Library’s Digital Collections: Staten Island in Vintage Postcards. The collection consists of 768 postcards that show places and life in Staten Island from the late 19th-century into the 20th-century. Catherine Robinson, who spent her childhood in Staten Island, collected and organized the postcards as a hobby and gave them to the NYPL in 2001. No date is given for these photos. The school opened 85 years ago. If you happen to know anything about these postcards, feel free to leave a comment.
To see what it looks like today, take a look at these photos I took in January 2010. The place hasn’t changed much. The trees are taller, of course, and a few buildings have been added. The Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which recently celebrated its 45th anniversary–and remains a symbol of my longing to go home during my days there–hadn’t been built yet. The school grounds skirt the edge of the tollbooths of the bridge, its span looming in the background. The whooshing sounds of bridge traffic fills the campus.
St. John Villa Academy, Cleveland Place, Staten Island: stone wall and drive up to main buildings
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The Sanctuary, St. John Villa Academy
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Buildings and entrance court
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Appears to be door to chapel
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Chapel
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St. John’s Villa Academy
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View of statue in entrance court and garden
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Campus in winter, snow on ground
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Drive to main entrance
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Iron entrance gate, snow-covered landscape and buildings
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Drive to main entrance with center court and statue
Stumble It!
