RAMVIEW NEWS
AROUND THE PREP
The front of Shea Hall , named for Fr . Arthur V . Shea , SJ , Dean of Students and Athletic Director at Fordham Prep during the early and mid-1900s .
Shea Hall ’ s First Half-Century by Louis DiGiorno ’ 88 , P ’ 26 , Archivist
I t was the decade that brought you prog-rock and disco and funk . There were bell bottoms and The Brady Bunch and gas lines and Pong . It was the Steinbrenner Show at the Stadium , and yes , the Bronx was burning — at times literally and at times metaphorically . And no , not even the green oasis of Rose Hill was immune to the many changes — societal , economic , technological , and otherwise — of the 1970s .
A few years earlier , by the start of Lyndon Johnson ’ s second term in the White House , it had become painfully apparent that Hughes Hall — the home of Fordham Prep since the fall of 1890 — could no longer meet the needs of a late 20th-century high school . Plans were made . Funds began to be raised . Then at the Alumni Dinner in February 1967 , anonymous donors offered $ 500,000 towards the construction of a new Prep building . Not anonymous for long , Robert Abplanalp ’ 39 , inventor and president of Precision Valve Corporation , and his wife , Josephine Sloboda Abplanalp , would give another $ 500,000 to the building fund in honor of Fr . Shea .
But in 1968 , the discussion of new facilities for the Prep took on a new urgency when Father Provincial held a conference on the fate of the Jesuit high schools in the area . The Province ’ s report — which would ultimately lead to the closing of Brooklyn Prep — contained the following remarks regarding Fordham Prep : “ The school is already doing outstanding work in educational experimentation and in providing quality education . But it also has serious problems in terms of physical plant . If its present drive to finance a new plant succeeds , and a new facility is made available , it will continue to be an important part of our apostolate in this area . If this condition is not fulfilled , we can see no realistic future for Fordham Prep .” To quote an old familiar song : it was “ do or die .”
The rest , as they say , is history .
In June of 1970 , Fordham Prep kicked off the new decade by becoming a legally separate entity from Fordham University , and Walter Higgins ’ 31 would chair the school ’ s first independent board . Construction of Shea Hall commenced the following February ; students would enter the Prep ’ s new premises for the first time in September of 1972 — fifty years ago this school semester .
Much has evolved at the “ New Prep Building ” in the last half-century . Classrooms have been reconfigured . The movable walls — all the rage way back when — have largely been removed . The Leonard Theatre was added in 1993 . The Library and Computer Center were reconfigured a few years later — and then a few years later , again . A fourth floor ? When did that happen ? ( 2009 , actually .) There is a new lobby now — the Rowen Lobby to be precise — and glass walls in the Administration . If you were wondering , our lunchroom is still called the Commons , and likely always will be , though it was never supposed to have been called a Commons at all : just an accident of financial fracas and logistical legerdemain . (“ Commons Knowledge ,” Ramview , Summer 2015 .)
And — to give just a bit of chronological context , a thenfuture alum and two-year-old at the time of Shea Hall ’ s grand opening now serves as the Prep ’ s Assistant Dean and teaches in the Social Studies Department : Patrick Deane ’ 88 . Moreover , one of his toddler-contemporaries wrote this article .
But , of course , as much as things have changed , what is important has endured , because — as we all know — whether at Shea Hall , or Hughes Hall ( or the Second Division Wing before that [ or even the Second Floor Room of the Old Manor House before that !]) Fordham Prep has always been more than just four walls : it is an experience , an experience that has been brought about — day after day , year after year — by the thousands of individuals who have lent their time and talent to our Catholic Jesuit mission since 1841 .
So here ’ s to the next half-century at Shea Hall , Fordham Prep . Fifth floor anyone ? How about that long-promised video-production studio ? Any takers ? And , folks , as they used to say back in the ’ 70s : have a nice day !
( You know , Mr . Deane , with a little elbow grease , you and I could theoretically be around for Shea Hall ’ s centennial . Friendly wager , buddy ?)
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FORDHAM PREP RAMVIEW