History
Though the school is named Oratory, it does not have any connection to the Oratorian Fathers. However, there may have been an association in the past, as advertisements for the school in The New York Times during the 1910s mention the Oratorian Fathers. The reason for the name change is said to be that the school wanted to attract Oratorian Priests, however this plan proved to be unsuccessful. Oratory was founded as an exclusive boarding school serving boys in grades 4 through 12, although in 1964 it became strictly a day school.
Oratory originally resided on a 15-acre (61,000 m2) lot, but was reduced to its current ten after selling off a portion of land in the 1960s. In 1967, the school was sold to the Archdiocese of Newark after running into financial difficulties. Among century-old specimen trees and rolling hills, the campus consists of two main academic buildings, athletic fields, and a prayer garden. The Newman Hall mansion, located at 14 Bedford Road, houses two classrooms, a chapel, and admission/development offices. Around the start of the 21st century, the campus was conversationally referred to as "The Park" by Summit residents because it had various athletic fields, intricate lamp posts, its own irrigation system, and a small pond that was used for skating during the winter season. The Fr. John J. Bain Academic building, built in 1959, contains classrooms, cafeteria, library, gymnasium, weight room, guidance offices, computer lab, chemistry lab, and art room. Oratory's Cavalero Memorial Field, an artificial turf field constructed in 2010, hosts a baseball diamond as well as Northern New Jersey's largest high school soccer field. Three practice tennis courts are adjacent to Kelly Field.
In 2006, the land was assessed at $6,270,000, and the buildings at $2,752,700, a total of $9,022,700.
Read more about this topic: Oratory Preparatory School
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