#ISCHOOL MUSIC AND ART WINDOWS#

The iron ends of the auditorium seats have a casting with an image of the Tudor window arches in the gymnasium.

#ISCHOOL MUSIC AND ART WINDOWS#

The auditorium has excellent acoustics, and features diamond-shaped amber windows that during daylight cast a warm glow on its dark wood interior. The large gymnasium features large Tudor-arch-shaped windows on two sides that at certain times during the day stream sunlight into the room. Music & Art students and graduates often referred to the building as 'The Castle on the hill,' a reference to the design of its gothic towers, and the decorative gargoyles done in a quirky and playful style that the Landmarks Commission report describes as 'finials in the shape of creatures bearing shields.' The tower rooms have dramatic acoustics, which Music & Art used as choral practice rooms. Post around 1900 to create a setting that came to be known as 'the poor man's Harvard.' That school was abolished during the Depression when there was a surplus of teachers for the city's school system, and Mayor LaGuardia used the opportunity to create the High School of Music & Art.Īrchitecturally, the building blends in with the older gothic revival buildings of the City College campus, designed by architect George B. The Training School became the New York Teachers Training College from 1931 to 1933. Gompert, Architect & Superintendent of School Buildings for the New York City Board of Education, to house the New York Training School for Teachers. The 1924 gothic revival building was designed by William H. The Board of Education posthumously honored Mayor LaGuardia by naming the new building after him. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, at a new building designed by Eduardo Catalano in the Lincoln Square area of Manhattan. However, this took many years and it was not until 1984 that the sister schools were merged into a new school, the Fiorello H. Notable M&A grads from the 1980s include writers Jonathan Lethem and Lynn Nottage, and hip-hop musician Slick Rick.Īs per Mayor LaGuardia's vision, Music & Art and Performing Arts merged on paper in 1961 and were to be combined in one building. Notable M&A graduates from the 1960s include Peter Hyams, Steven Bochco, Robbie Conal, Graham Diamond, Maira Kalman, Bob Mankoff, Diane Noomin, and Margot Adler while notable graduates from the 1970s include musicians Paul Stanley and Kenny Washington. Notable graduates from the 1950s included Gloria Davy, Diahann Carroll, Susan Stamberg, Billy Dee Williams, Peter Yarrow, Tony Roberts, James Burrows, Erica Jong, and Felix Pappalardi.

Other M&A graduates from the 1940s include Bess Myerson, Allan Kaprow, and Hal Linden. Blechman, Milton Glaser, Ed Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins - three of the four co-founders of the design firm Push Pin Studios - were M&A students in the 1940s. Comic book artists Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, did as well, though they were slightly younger than Jaffee and the rest. In 1948, a sister school - the High School of Performing Arts - was created in an effort to harness students' talents in dance.įuture Mad magazine contributors Al Jaffee, Will Elder, Harvey Kurtzman, John Severin, and Al Feldstein all attended Music & Art together in the 1930s. It was a magnet school, meant to draw talented students from all boroughs. Music & Art was made up of three departments: Art, Instrumental Music, and Vocal Music. As the mayor of New York City he wanted to establish a public school in which students could hone their talents in music, art and the performing arts. LaGuardia started the high school in 1936, an event he described as 'the most hopeful accomplishment' of his administration. Philip Randolph Campus High School, a magnet school of the New York City Department of Education. LaGuardia High School of Music & the Arts.Ĭolloquially known as 'The Castle on the Hill,' the building that once housed Music & Art is located in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Harlem, in the campus of the City College of New York across the street from St. The schools fully merged in 1984 into the Fiorello H. 1947) were formed into a two-campus high school. In 1961, Music & Art and the High School of Performing Arts (est. The High School of Music & Art, informally known as 'Music & Art' (or 'M&A'), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. LaGuardia High School of Music & the Arts

Ischool music and art