Because New York City lacked public educational opportunities beyond grammar school, the Free Academy was not a typical college and had to serve as both a preparatory school and college. Despite an academically rigorous curriculum that allowed students to earn either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree, faculty and students felt that the term “academy,” which implied it was merely a high school or preparatory school, was misleading. In order to signify that the Free Academy was a true college, the name was changed to the College of the City of New York (CCNY) in 1866.
To celebrate the renaming of the school, students held a “burial” of the Free Academy that included a torchlight parade from 42nd Street down to 23rd Street. A trip was also made to taunt the rival Columbia College, which was then at Madison Avenue and 49th Street. Robert Abbe, Class of 1870, wrote of the parade:
Let us recall the forming of classes in procession, each man with his torch, marching and counter-marching, shouting and echoing, crowding and jostling, within and without that old iron railing; thronging the streets, bullying policemen, anathematizing Columbians. We owned the town that night…
