“Rendering of a new Public School on Hester Street between Orchard and Ludlow Streets.”

Designed by Superintendent of School Buildings C.B.J. Snyder in the late 19th century, P.S. 42 today bears the name of Benjamin Altman, an entrepreneur and art collector born and raised on the Lower East Side.

Altman worked in his father’s dry goods store on Attorney Street before founding B. Altman & Co. on Third Avenue and 10th Street, in 1865. Upon his death in 1913, Altman bequeathed his art collection, including works by Rembrandt, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.