The lack of access lead to complaints from students. In May 1929, the homes in front of the school were acquired and razed to create the large lawn areas and entrance in front of the school. In January 1930, the plans for the athletic complex were doubled in size, extending all the way to the Grand Central Parkway on what is now Thomas A. Edison High School. In addition to the current facilities, it would have included a field hockey court, and a large area fronting the parkway for either a polo field or 24 public tennis courts. In August 1931, the design for the new approach from the school to Gothic Drive was revealed. This included fountains at the site of the current World War II memorial. The athletic complex was first used on April 22, 1932, in a baseball game against John Adams High School. The field was dedicated on May 10, 1932, prior to a playoff baseball game between Jamaica and Richmond Hill High School. Temporary seating was erected for the event, with Mayor Jimmy Walker and Queens Borough President George U. Harvey in attendance. The first football game was played on October 1, 1932. The new approaches to the school were completed in 1933. On November 10, 1948, the World War II memorial at the front of the school was dedicated. It cost $4,500. In its heyday in 1950, Jamaica High School's enrollment of 4,613 students was the largest in all of Queens. The school was known for its academic prowess and rigid academic standards. It was also known for its racially and demographically integrated student body, especially as surrounding Queens neighborhoods became more diverse into the 1980s. Jamaica High School was named the best secondary school in the United States in 1985 by the United States Department of Education, while having the third-lowest dropout rate in New York City. It was also one of 19 high schools in the country to receive a Carnegie grant that year. The Gateway to Higher Education was founded by New York City in September 1986, establishing a program within Jamaica High School. Decline and closure On November 5, 1986, a student was shot in the school's auditorium. The shooting would foreshadow the emergence of problems within Jamaica High School that had already plagued other schools in the city. While the school's academic reputation had declined compared to the previous