This May will be the 61st anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to Lakeview. On May 12, 1965, King led a march organized by the Lakeview NAACP chapter from Rockville Centre to the Woodfield Road School, the building that is now the Lakeview Public Library.
Davison Avenue Intermediate School social worker Dr. Martine Laventure values this history as a Lakeview resident and Malverne graduate. “I’m actually Malverne class of ’02, and I remember my senior year when it [the building] was converted into the library,” Laventure said. “When I started working in Malverne and started to learn more about the history of the building, it was always something I was interested in.”
She was inspired by King’s march in Lakeview, as well as last May’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of his visit. This inspiration led her to start the Lakeview Public Library Landmark Project. The project aims to get Lakeview Public Library designated as a historic landmark.
“Following last year’s anniversary of MLK’s visit to Lakeview, the idea sprung in my head that this history needs to be told and preserved,” she said. “I know this location should be designated as a historic landmark because of the history, and how it continues to serve as a multi-purpose facility for the Lakeview community.”
Laventure’s project is focused on education; she is working on it with the Davison Avenue Ambassadors of the fifth-grade class. The Ambassadors are a childrens’ civic learning and community advocacy group. She believes the preservation of local history should be emphasized in education to ensure that events like Dr. King’s march in Lakeview are not forgotten.
“This small community has so much history that wasn’t taught to me as a student, so I started to think, what do our current students really know?” she said. “I knew this was the right project, because they’re hungry for knowledge, they want to know.”
In 2025, the Lynbrook Public Library was designated as a historical site because of its significance to the women’s suffrage movement of the early 1900s. Laventure cites this as further inspiration for her project.
“Knowing that Lynbrook library was designated as a landmark last year, this building [Lakeview Public Library] also has history tied to the Civil Rights Movement and also shaped how New York State started to integrate their school systems,” she said.
Laventure is researching the history of Woodfield Road School with the kids at Davison, and teaching them that 60 years ago is not ancient history. “We have neighbors and staff members in the Malverne school district that actually attended Woodfield Road School,” she said. “We need to hear their stories, because there’s a limited amount of information you can find when you google Woodfield Road School.”
In pursuit of the library’s historical designation, Laventure and the Ambassadors have been in contact with the office of Councilwoman Laura A. Ryder, who has since confirmed their acknowledgement of the project. She is looking to submit two proposals for historical designation: one to the Town of Hempstead, and one to the New York State Registrar’s office for landmark designation.
“Our effort is making waves with local politicians, and it’s amazing to know that a bunch of ten-year-olds can grab their attention,” she said. She is also conducting interviews with 21 alumni who attended Malverne schools between the years of 1950 and 1970 to get their firsthand stories.
