Few people can claim that they attended elementary school at an art museum. However, before the building at 22-25 Jackson Avenue became part of New York City's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), it functioned as P.S.1--Public School 1--for the children of Long Island City. Originally, it was named the First Ward School when the city was independent and divided into wards or sections. In 1898 when Long Island City became part of New York City, the school was renamed P.S.1.

MoMA PS1's previous life as the largest elementary school in Long Island City and later Queens, began in 1893. As the population grew to 40,000, the dilapidated rented buildings used as classrooms were no longer sufficient. Many children were unable to attend school due to lack of space. Original plans for the new school called for 22 classrooms. They were quickly reconfigured into 34 smaller rooms to accommodate one thousand students.