Eastview Middle School celebrates a century as timeless jewel

Time stands still, quite literally, at Eastview Middle School, where a clock in the auditorium has long stopped ticking and the building stands as a proud landmark for generations of White Plains students on its 100th anniversary.

For veteran music teacher Laura Mazziotti, no symbol better captures Eastview’s character than the venerable clock in the ornate, wood-filled auditorium.

“The one right in the center, facing the audience? It’s been stuck at 1:01 for as long as I’ve been here,” said Ms. Mazziotti, who arrived at Eastview in 1991 — fresh out of Oberlin College and Conservatory.

“It never got fixed, and I kind of love that. For me, time stood still in that room — it’s a metaphor for my time at Eastview,” she added.

For head custodian Christian Reyes, Eastview’s century-old fortress character is rooted in its structural integrity and visual impact.

“These walls are 24 inches thick on the lower floors and about 18 inches above,” he said. “The hallways are granite, the building is full of old wood, and a lot of the original doors are still here. We try hard not to disturb that look.”

The original Eastview School served children on the growing east side of White Plains. Facing an influx of residents, the city launched a major construction project in 1924 to transform Eastview into a junior high for grades 7 through 9, according to a history of the school provided by Frank Stefanelli, the retired director of facilities and operations for the district.

By 1930, a second major addition was again designed by the renowned New York City architectural firm Starrett & Van Vleck, which also designed the Rochambeau Alternative High School and Highlands Middle School.

The educational vision for the campus was guided by consultants George D. Strayer and Nathaniel I. Englehardt, both nationally recognized leaders in educational planning and development in the early 20th century.

In the mid-20th century, as enrollment patterns shifted, parts of the building were temporarily rented to small companies before the district reclaimed the space for student use.

In the 1960s, the district bought additional land and closed sections of Eastview Avenue and Franklin Avenue to create the lower field and install the retaining walls that define the campus today. An old red fire hydrant still stands proudly on the field that replaced a nearby road.

From 1986 to 1996, Eastview was leased out for non-educational use as the district explored selling the property. Ultimately, the school’s central location and deep community ties prompted its return to educational purposes.

As the district’s population continued to grow, Eastview was formally designated as part of the White Plains Middle School Campus. In 2012, the Board of Education voted to transform Eastview into a dedicated sixth-grade academy, helping ease the transition between elementary and middle school.

That same year, the district offered residents a “last tour” of the building to showcase its history before the start of extensive upgrades funded through the 2012 facilities plan. Between 2013 and 2015, it underwent major renovations, including a new roof, interior modernization and infrastructure improvements.

Mr. Reyes has spent 25 years in the district and about 15 at Eastview. He’s seen how the building’s solid construction shapes daily life — and why it still performs.

“People think older means fragile. It’s the opposite here,” he said. “Because of the granite and terrazzo floors and so much concrete, we can go from a flood to opening school the next day. If this were new construction—mostly wood and sheetrock—it would be a disaster.”

Keeping the old building humming takes specialized care. Inside, original wood floors still gleam — albeit with a few challenges.

“We had a flood in one room,” he said, pointing out where half the floor had to be replaced. “The contractor struggled to find matching wood. What you see is the closest they could get.”

He fondly recalled how a small discovery connected past to present when an alum in his 70s visited and asked to see the subterranean boiler room.

“He wanted to check if something was still there,” he said. “And it was … remnants of an old masonry classroom: original steps and brick walls the students used to build, demolish and rebuild. It’s a piece of Eastview’s hands-on history, still intact.”

And then there’s the auditorium clock frozen in time.

“It’s been through all our construction and never came down,” Mr. Reyes said. “It’s part of the building’s story—like time paused here, even as we keep improving the place.”

Ms. Mazziotti recalled her early days in White Plains, where she was only 23 when she was hired as a band director. She stopped at a gas station to buy a map before the digital age.

“I showed up with two suitcases and a bag full of trumpets,” she recalled with a laugh. “I didn’t even have a car. I had just come off a summer playing with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, and I was just hoping to find my way as a new teacher. And here I am 34 years later.”

In her first full year, 1991–92, Eastview was a seventh- and eighth-grade building. But then, it suddenly closed.

“That was terrible for me. I had just settled in, and then we had to pack up the entire building and move to Highlands,” Ms. Mazziotti said in her spacious classroom brimming with musical instruments.

“They thought enrollment was dropping and tried to sell Eastview. They even rented it out for office space!” she said.

A few years later, the district reopened Eastview as the School for the Humanities, a magnet program that would eventually evolve into today’s sixth-grade campus.

“At first it was hard to convince families to come here,” Ms. Mazziotti remembered. “But the teachers who came were overachievers — people who worked really hard and loved helping students. It became a building with heart. Before long, everyone wanted to be here.”

The teacher has witnessed Eastview’s transformation from ink-stained mimeograph machines to interactive whiteboards, and from a two-grade junior high to a vibrant sixth-grade school.

“Some things change — the technology, the air conditioning we finally got after 34 years — but some things stay beautifully the same,” she said.

“It’s a labor of love being in an old building,” Ms. Mazziotti said. “It has character. You feel part of history, and I think that’s grounding for students too — to be in a place that has lasted so long.”

The teacher pointed to her proud longevity by noting that five of her current band members are children of her former students.

“That’s when you know you’ve been here a while,” she said, laughing. “They’re my ‘grand-students.’ It’s so rewarding — and it shows that families stay in White Plains. They believe in this school.”

Today, Eastview continues to thrive as a vibrant learning community that also leases space to the White Plains Youth Bureau and Family Services of Westchester.

Mr. Reyes said the building easily has “another 50 years.”

In the end, the custodian’s verdict is simple:

“Eastview was built the hard way—and the right way,” he said. “Our job is to respect that history while making it work for today’s students.”