P.S. 166 to Be Renamed After Richard Rodgers

Manhattan’s Public School 166 is to be renamed after composer Richard Rodgers. On Tuesday, June 10, the neo-gothic, landmarked school building on West 89th Street will become the Richard Rodgers School of the Arts and Technology.

Rodgers attended the school from 1911-16. He went on to write over 900 songs and 40 Broadway musicals, including Oklahoma!, The King and I, and South Pacific, and The Sound of Music. The name change of P.S. 166 is the culmination of a series of events at the school during Rodgers’ centennial year, including a visit by cast members of the Broadway production of Flower Drum Song.

Members of the Rodgers family will speak at the dedication ceremony, which will include a 30-minute tribute by students performing songs and scenes from the composer’s musicals. “My family couldn’t be more delighted, or thrilled,” said daughter Mary Rodgers, who will be on hand for the dedication. “My father loved, music, he loved young people, and he would have been overjoyed at the fact that his name and his songs will live on through a school and a community that meant so much to him.”