The Packer Collegiate Institute was incorporated in 1845 as the Brooklyn Female Academy, an institution devoted solely to female education. The Academy opened in 1846 in a building on Joralemon Street between Court and Clinton Streets in the present-day neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. While it enjoyed consistently increasing enrollment over the years, the Academy was destroyed by fire on January 1, 1853.
Shortly after the Academy's destruction, Harriet Putnam Packer, widow of one of the Academy's trustees, William S. Packer, donated $65,000 toward the building of a new school, with the only stipulation being that it be named in honor of her late husband. In November of 1854, the Packer Collegiate Institute opened on the site of its forebear institution in a building designed in the Gothic Revival style by noted architect Minard LeFever.
Like its predecessor, Packer was an all-girls educational institution offering primary, secondary, and collegiate-level programs. For over a century, Packer remained one of New York City's foremost establishments for female education, and as its enrollment and curriculum expanded, new facilities were continually added to its distinctive campus. In 1972, in recognition of modern changes in private education, Packer altered its traditional course and became a coeducational institution.
As of 2010, Packer remains one of Brooklyn's highly regarded private schools, offering programs for preschool through the 12th grade on its now-landmarked campus.
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Sources:
- Nickerson, Marjorie L.
A Long Way Forward: The First Hundred Years of the Packer Collegiate Institute. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Packer Collegiate Institute, 1945.
- Packer Collegiate Institute. "A Brief History of the Packer Collegiate Institute." Accessed October 26, 2010. http://www.packer.edu/page.cfm?p=434.
From the guide to the Packer Collegiate Institute collection, 1846-2002, (Brooklyn Historical Society)
