Pratt Institute is a
specialized private college in New York City
with campuses in Manhattan
, Brooklyn
, and
Utica, New
York
. Pratt is one of the leading art schools in
the United
States
and offers programs in art, architecture, fashion
design, illustration, interior design, digital arts, creative
writing, library and
information science, and other areas. Pratt is a member
of the
Association
of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium
of 36 leading art schools in the United States.
History

The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn,
NY
Charles Pratt (1830–1891) was an early
pioneer of the natural
oil industry in
the United States.
He was founder of Astral Oil Works in the Greenpoint section
of Brooklyn, New
York
. He joined with his protégé
Henry H. Rogers to form
Charles Pratt and Company in 1867.
Both companies became part of
John
D. Rockefeller's
Standard Oil in 1874.
Pratt is credited with recognizing the growing need for trained
industrial workers in a changing economy.
In 1886, he founded
and endowed the Pratt Institute, which opened in Brooklyn
in 1887.
Presidents
- Charles Pratt (1830–1891),
president from 1887-1891
- Charles Millard Pratt
(1855-1935), 1891–1893
- Frederic B. Pratt (1865–1945), 1893–1937
- Charles Pratt (1892–?), 1937–1953
- Francis H. Horn, 1953–1957
- Robert Fisher Oxnam (1915–1974), 1957–1960
- James Britt Donovan (1916–1970), 1968–1970
- Richardson Pratt Jr. (1923–2001) (grandson of Charles Millard
Pratt and great-grandson of Charles Pratt), 1972–1990
- Warren F. Ilchman (1933–), 1990–1993
- Thomas F. Schutte (1936–), 1993–present
Campus

DeKalb Avenue gate
Pratt Institute is an enclosed beautifully landscaped 25-acre
campus with historic buildings, library, and an athletic center. A
residential campus, it offers several different kinds of
residential options. It has two public entrances,which close in the
evening hours. The main gate on Willoughby Avenue (for pedestrians
and cars) is guarded by a security post 24 hours a day. The Hall
Street entrance is convenient for commuters. Buildings on campus
include the Library, Dekalb Hall, ISC Building, Main Building,
North Hall, East Building, Student Union, Memorial Hall, Machinery
Building, Chemistry Building, Engineering Building, Pratt Studios,
Steuben Hall, and the ARC building. Off-campus buildings include
the newly renovated Higgins Hall which contains the School of
Architecture and a new "green" building on Myrtle Avenue for
digital arts programs and student services including admissions
scheduled to open in fall 2010. The contemporary sculpture park on
campus is open to visitors during the day.
In addition, Pratt has another campus in Manhattan on 14th Street
between 6th and 7th Avenue. This new building houses the Graduate
School for Information and Library Science, the Graduate Programs
in Communications and Package Design, Design Management, Arts and
cultural Management and the two-year Associates Degree Programs in
Digital Design, Graphic Design and Illustration. The modern
building has many resources like a library, computer lab and
meeting spaces. In 1977, the original school was opened in a
nineteenth-century women's dress-design school, a New York City
Landmark building at Lexington Avenue and 31st Street. At this
time, Manhattan had long been the epicenter of publishing design
during the latter-twentieth century, and this new
commercial-art-dedicated satellite was modeled to apply intensely
concentrated vocational training in graphic design, illustration,
package design, and textile design. Its faculty was largely
composed of Manhattan's working professionals, who themselves had
achieved the level of skill necessary to meet the city's
global-defining standards. Magazines, books, music albums, movie
posters, print and television advertisements and packaging for all
forms of retail products were the intended goals for its graduates,
as well as Manhattan's omnipresent fashion industry. In addition,
the below-ground space in the school was converted into a state of
the art printmaking facility, teaching artist-created lithography,
silkscreening and engraving.
Residence Halls
All residence hall students are provided with a bed (twin
extra-long), a drafting table, a chair and a dresser. Students
residing in a dorm on campus are required to be on a mandatory meal
plan (Stabile, Cannoneer, ELJ, and Pantas), while those off campus
are able to sign up for an optional meal plan (Willoughby and Grand
Avenue).
Cannoneer Court
Cannoneer Court, or the Cann, was designed by famed architecture
firm SOM in 1986 and was constructed using a then-unique form of
modular construction. Each individual dorm room was constructed
off-site and then set into place like building blocks. It
accommodates 94 students between two hallways. This traditional
corridor-style residence houses students in double rooms, and
bathrooms are communal. The building has a lounge and work area as
well as a garden courtyard. The rooms are air-conditioned and
carpeted. Although it was meant for temporary housing in 1986, this
building still stands today for use as freshman housing as well as
late-acceptance students and transfers. The first floor of this
two-floor building is used as Graduate fine-arts studios.
Esther Lloyd-Jones Hall
Esther Lloyd-Jones Hall is named
for a trendsetter in modern American higher education. ELJ
accommodates students single and double rooms. ELJ is comprised
primarily of upperclassmen continuing students; vacancies for new
transfer and graduate students sometimes do occur.
Leo J. Pantas Hall
Designed by SOM in 1986, the Leo J. Pantas dormitory sits centrally
located on campus. Students live in four-person suites, which
consist of two double rooms (two people in each double room), and
each suite has its own bathroom. Suites are single sex, but floors
are co-ed. Each suite is responsible for the healthy upkeep of the
common bathroom area. The building boasts a large work area in
addition to a dramatic main lounge area with a large screen TV. Its
central location on campus makes it desirable to students, with its
clock tower serving as a campus landmark.
Grand Avenue
Grand Avenue Residence is home to new and continuing graduate
students. The building can accommodate 50 students in efficiency
apartments (double and single) and private single rooms within two-
and three-bedroom apartments. A double-efficiency apartment is two
students sharing a one-room apartment (with kitchen and bath). A
single-efficiency apartment is one student in a private one-room
apartment with kitchen and bath. A shared single is two or more
students, each with its own private bedroom, sharing kitchen, bath,
and living room. The building is located one block from campus.
Each living room is furnished with a sofa, club chair, coffee
table, kitchen table, and chairs.
Willoughby Hall
Willoughby Residence Hall is a former 16 (no 13th floor) story
apartment co-op, and is the largest residence hall. It accommodates
800 undergraduate men and women. Very few apartments are now co-ed.
In addition to the standard furniture, all apartments have a
kitchen table, stove, and refrigerator. All students are assigned
to double, triple, or single spaces. The converted apartments
consist of at least one double or triple that occupies the former
living-room space of the apartment. The number of students residing
in a given apartment ranges from two to six students, depending
upon the size of the converted apartment—studio, one-, two-, or
three-bedroom.
Stabile Hall
Vincent A. Stabile Hall opened in the Fall of 1999. Named for the
donor and graduate of the Engineering School, it was designed for
new undergraduate students. It houses 240 students in four-person
suites. Each suite consists of two double rooms with a shared bath.
There are
kitchenettes located on each
floor. The award-winning design of the building boasts a large
common lounge with smaller work and lounge spaces on each floor,
all of which contribute to a vital living and working
environment.
Schools
- Pratt
Institute School of Architecture
- Department of Undergraduate Architecture
- Department of Graduate Architecture
- Department of Construction Management
- Department of Facilities Management
- Department of Graduate Architecture and Urban Design
- Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment
- School of Art and Design
- Department of Foundation Art
- Department of Art and Design Education
- Department of Creative Arts Therapy
- Department of Arts and Cultural Management
- Department of Communications Design
- Department of Graduate Communications/Packaging Design
- Department of Digital Arts
- Department of Design Management
- Department of Fashion Design
- Department of Fine Arts
- Department of the History of Art & Design
- Department of Industrial Design
- Department of Interior Design
- Department of Media Arts
- Associate Degree Programs
- School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Department of English and Humanities
- Critical and Visual Studies
- Intensive English Program
- Department of Math and Science
- Department of Social Science and Cultural Studies
- Writing Program
- School of
Information and Library Science
- Center for Continuing Education and Professional Studies
Notable alumni
- Ralph Appelbaum (museum
designer)
- David Ascalon (sculptor)
- Ken Bald (illustrator, newspaper comic
strip artist)
- Joseph Barbera (animator)
- Timothy D. Bellavia (children's
author-illustrator)
- Gwendolyn B. Bennett (poet, artist)
- Dave Berg (cartoonist,
Mad)
- Joe Boudreau (painter)
- Cecily Byk (painter)
- William D. Byron, Maryland
(politician)
- Bernard Chang (illustrator)
- Echo Chernik (illustrator)
- Daniel Clowes (screenwriter,
cartoonist, Art School
Confidential, a story related to his experience at Pratt)
- Bryan Collier (children's book
illustrator)
- Roger Cook
(graphic designer)
- Joshua Davis (web
and graphic design)
- Ben de Lisi (fashion designer)
- Louis Delsarte (artist)
- Tomie dePaola (children's
author-illustrator)
- Gus Edson (cartoonist)
- Lloyd Espenschied (electrical
engineer)
- Jules Feiffer (cartoonist)
- Harvey Fierstein (actor)
- John Flansburgh (musician, half
of They Might Be Giants)
- Richard Foster
- Roderick Gilchrist (Director
of the Cartoon Art Museum)
- Bob Giraldi (director,
filmmaker)
- Eric Goldberg
(animator)
- Félix
González-Torres (artist)
- Bill Griffith (cartoonist)
- Jan Groover (photographer)
- Christian Hawkey (poet,
novelist)
- Gregory Henderson
(photographer)
- Eva Hesse (sculptor)
- William Howard Hoople
- Terrence Howard (actor)
- Betsey Johnson (fashion
designer)
- Matt Johnson (from the indie rock
duo Matt and Kim)
- Malcolm Jones III (comic book
artist)
- Ellsworth Kelly (painter,
sculptor)
- Jack Kirby (comic book artist)
- Ben Knight (designer, installation
artist, inventor)
- Josh Koury (Filmmaker)
- Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt
(artist)
- Arnold Lobel (illustrator, author
of the Frog & Toad books)
- George Lois (art & advertising
director)
- Robert Mapplethorpe
(photographer)
- David Mauro (painter)
- Peter Max (artist)
- Vera Maxwell (fashion
designer)
- Marcus McLaurin (comic book
writer/editor)
- Morton Meskin (comic book
artist)
- Colleen Mulligan (painter)
- Judith Murray (painter)
- Kadir Nelson (illustrator,
children's book author)
- Martin Nodell (comic book
artist)
- Norman Norell (fashion
designer)
- Roxy Paine (conceptual artist)
- Roberto Parada (illustrator)
- Beverly Pepper (sculptor)
- Denis Peterson (photorealist
painter)
- John Peterson (children's
book author)
- Sylvia Plachy (photographer)
- Charles Pollock (chair
designer)
- Charles E. Pont (painter, illustrator, printmaker,
graphic designer)
- Bob Powell (comic book artist)
- George Pratt (painter and
graphic novel artist)
- Hawley Pratt (layout artist under
Friz Freleng)
- Paul Rand (graphic designer)
- Robert Redford (actor,
director)
- Robert Riger (illustrator,
photographer)
- Robert Sabuda (children's book
creator)
- Stefan Sagmeister (graphic
designer) {note: He was an exchange student}
- Jeremy Scott (fashion
designer)
- Nat Mayer Shapiro
(painter)
- Rob Sheridan (artist, graphic
designer, web designer, editor, art director)
- David Silverman (animator)
- Pamela Colman Smith (artist,
illustrator, writer)
- Patti Smith (singer and poet)
- Therman Statom (glass
artist)
- Swoon (street artist)
- Elliot Tiber
(screenwriter who "saved" Woodstock Festival
)
- Dante Tomaselli (director, score
composer, writer)
- William Van
Alen (architect, designer of the Chrysler Building
)
- Max Weber (painter)
- Kent Williams (illustrator)
- William T. Williams (artist)
- Robert Wilson
(director)
- Terry Winters (artist)
- Rob Zombie (musician, director,
writer)
- Peter Zumthor (architect)
- Matt and Kim (indie pop duo)
Athletics
The Pratt Cannoneers, a founding member of the Hudson Valley
Athletic Conference (NCAA Division III), has varsity teams
competing in men's basketball, soccer, cross-country,
indoor/outdoor track, and tennis; as well as women's soccer,
tennis, cross-country, indoor/outdoor track, and volleyball.
The men's basketball team has a storied tradition, including the
4th longest collegiate basketball rivalry in the nation between
Pratt and Polytechnic University (Brooklyn, NY), with Pratt holding
the overall record 78-59. The Cannoneers also took home a national
collegiate championship title in 1901, and made four NAIA ('59,
'60, '61, and '62) and two ECAC ('77,'79) post-season appearances.
Former players included Ed Mazria ('62), who was drafted by the New
York Knicks, and Anthony Heyward ('94), who currently tours with
the And1 streetball team as "Half Man Half Amazing".
The women's cross-country team recently captured the 2006 HMWAC
championship title and coach Dalton Evans won "Coach of the Year"
honors. The men's cross-country team also has a championship title.
The women's tennis team has won three HVWAC titles, including an
appearance in the ECAC tournament.
In addition, there are intramural activities schedules throughout
the year, ranging from individual (tennis and track & field) to
team sports (soccer, basketball, volleyball, and touch football).
Two premier student intramurals events include the fall classic
Halloween Pratt Ratt Outdoor Obstacle Relay Race and the annual Mr.
& Ms. Pratt All Thatt Fitness & Artistic Expression Pageant
finale.
The Athletics Resource Center (A.R.C.) is home to the athletic
department, and features the largest clear-span space in Brooklyn.
It also hosts the annual Colgate Games, the nation's largest
amateur track series for girls from elementary school through
college.
The school's mascot, the Cannoneer, takes the name from the 19th
century cannon that stands prominently near the main gate to the
campus. Cast in bronze in Seville, Spain, the cannon bears the
insignia of Philip V and was brought to Pratt from the walls of
Morro Castle in Havana, Cuba, in 1899.
Trivia
- The library at Pratt Institute, which was opened in 1888 to
serve not only students but the general public as well, was the
first free public library in Brooklyn. The architect of the
building was William Tubby of
Brooklyn. The decoration in the building was done by the Tiffany Glass and Decorating
Company.
- The school had a radio station in the mid-1980s that broadcast
on a limited-range signal. After students modified the broadcast
tower, the FCC
stepped in and shut it down. The station later re-emerged in 2001
as an internet-only station and continues to broadcast from
http://www.prattradio.com.
- Comic book artist Daniel Clowes's experience at the Pratt
Institute provided the inspiration for his satirical comic Art School
Confidential, upon which the 2006 film of the same name
was based.
- Segments of the 1990 movie Jacob's Ladder were filmed at
Pratt, as well as scenes for the 2006 film The Good Shepherd, directed by
Robert De Niro. Some episodes of
Law &
Order: Special Victims Unit have been filmed on
campus.
- Pratt has a closed-circuit television station, PRATT TV, located on channel 66 on campus. (Founded
in 2000). Until recently, the channel was home to a blank VCR
screen.
- Pratt's Brooklyn campus is home to a number of cats that are
known as the Pratt Cats.
- The school's colors are black and cadmium yellow.
- The oldest continually functioning elevator in all of Brooklyn, installed in 1910, was
located at Pratt's Main Building, until it was upgraded in October
2004.
- Pratt has the oldest continuously accredited library-science
school in the United States of America.
- In 2007, Pratt received more applications than any other art
school in the country with 4,400 applications for 585 freshman
spots.
- Pratt boasts the oldest continuously operating, privately
owned, steam-powered electrical-generating plant in the country.
The facility's historic value was recognized by the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers and named a National
Mechanical Engineering Landmark.
- Pam Beesly from The Office was accepted to
Pratt in the episode "Goodbye, Toby."
She studies for three months and leaves Pratt by the episode
"Business Trip."
- Parts of the pornographic film "Debbie Does Dallas" were filmed at
locations in the Pratt Institute Library and the women's locker
room in Pratt's Athletic and Recreational Center (ARC). This was
done without the knowledge or consent of staff and
administrators.
- There are 24 tiles from the Pantas front doors to the Pantas
garbage bins.
- Pratt Institute's School of Architecture is currently the
largest school of architecture in the country.
- The school’s logo utilizes an extra bold version of the
Futura typeface.
- The campus substitutes for Harvard University in the American
television show Fringe.
References
External links