The Old ’88 pediment was welcomed home on Sunday as the Sayville Library unveiled the sign in the Children’s Room on loan from the Sayville Historical Society.
Remembering their old teachers, reuniting with old classmates and reminiscing about school days, students from the Old ’88 building
gathered to share their memories of days in the building.
The Historical Society loaned the library the original pediment from the front of the school. Designed by local architect Isaac Green Jr., Old ’88 was used as a district school until 1957. Suffolk Adelphi College occupied the building from 1958-1962. In 1964, it became the district’s administration building until it was destroyed by a fire on Dec. 14, 1969.
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Brendan McCurdy, president of the Sayville Library Board of Directors and Connie Currie, president of the Sayville Historical Society simultaneously cut the ribbon to unveil the newly restored sign.
“Back when the fire destroyed the building, the Historical Society took the pediment and displayed it outside one of our buildings,” Currie said. “We finally brought it in and had it restored but we didn’t know what to do with it. When the new library was built, Alice Lepore, library director, suggested bringing it here. So the pediment has come home and she’s where she should be.”
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The Sayville Library is located on the site where Old ’88 once stood. The land had stood empty for decades until the new library was built. “We try to teach children today about Sayville back then; this is a great way to do it,” Currie added. “They will see this sign hanging here and we can explain Old ’88 to them.
One former student, William Fridrich, who was also a firefighter, shared the story of the day the fire started. It was snowing, he said, and there had been many false alarms in the building so he didn’t answer the first call. When the third signal went off, Fridrich finally rose from bed around 1 a.m. and went to the fire. Since Old ’88 was a wooden building, with oiled wooden floors, the fire spread even faster. The fire department was there all day and night but the building couldn’t be saved.
