History
A small group of interested landowners and merchants living on Brooklyn Heights formed a committee "of all the citizens interested in the cause of Female Education." After several meetings, a board of trustees was selected, funds were raised and the new school, named The Brooklyn Female Academy was built on Joralemon Street. It was a financial and educational success, its enrollment increasing steadily as the years went on. On January 1, 1853 the building caught fire and burned to the ground.
A few days later, Harriet Putnam Packer (1820–1892), the widow of William S. Packer, offered the sum of $65,000 to rebuild The Brooklyn Female Academy if the new institution was named in honor of her deceased husband. At this time, Ms. Packer made the largest gift ever for the higher education of women. The new building, designed by the noted architect of Brooklyn churches, Minard LaFever, opened in November, 1854.
Until the late 20th century Packer was primarily a girls school, with boys attending only kindergarten through fourth grade while girls and young women enrolled through high school as well as a two-year college. The chapel is notable for having stained-glass Tiffany windows.
Packer can be seen as a set for the CW television series Gossip Girl in multiple episodes throughout the first three seasons, as both interior and exterior locations.
Read more about this topic: Packer Collegiate Institute
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