Faculty tour of 15 East 88th Street .
Acquisition of 15 East 88th Street
On May 26 , 2022 , Saint David ’ s School acquired the fourth and final Cutting Townhouse . The contiguous , adjacent property will meet the school ’ s future instructional and programmatic needs and increase our backyard outdoor space by one third . The letter below was sent to all community members by email the afternoon of the acquisition .
Dear Saint David ’ s Community ,
They say that luck is the residue of design , and throughout the history of Saint David ’ s , our boys have benefited from those with the wisdom to make the best of both . The confluence of luck and design propelled our first expansion in 1953 , from our single building at 12 East 89th Street , the first of four townhouses comprising the Delano and Aldrich-designed Cutting Family compound , into the two adjacent Cutting townhouses , Numbers 14 and 16 . Inspired design struck again in 1972 when , anticipating that the school ’ s needs would once again evolve , the school had the foresight to acquire Graham House , which now provides our boys with a STEAM suite , performance space and athletic facilities second to none in our City .
Fifty years later , unprecedented opportunity and prescient foresight have converged to launch the next exciting chapter in Saint David ’ s history : the acquisition today of the fourth and final Cutting Townhouse , 15 East 88th Street . In this latest stroke of luck , the opportunity to acquire contiguous , adjacent property was met with design in the form of swift , decisive action by our board , enabled by the prudent fiscal stewardship that has long been a hallmark of our institution . As a fortuitous aside , given the classical tradition of balance around the four pillars of Academics , Athletics , Arts and Spirituality that has guided the school since its beginning , there is a fitting completeness to reuniting all four Cutting homes within the Saint David ’ s family . Perhaps more fitting still , our boys ’ good fortune is now made manifest by the school ’ s horseshoe footprint that encircles Madison Avenue from East 89th to East 88th Street .
Just as with Graham House a half century ago , this capital undertaking positions Saint David ’ s for the kind of success that will benefit generations of boys to come . The addition of 15 East 88th ( a gracious twin to 12 East 89th , best observed now from
( Right ) Outdoor space at 15 East 88th .
22 • Saint David ’ s Magazine