History
The High School of Music & Art was founded by Fiorello H. LaGuardia in 1936. As the mayor of New York City he wanted to establish a public school in which students could hone their talents in music and art. In 1948, a similar school, the School of Performing Arts, was created to harness students’ talents in dance, music, and/or drama. The schools merged on paper in 1961 and were to be combined in one building. However, this took many years and it was not until 1984 that they moved to a new building in Lincoln Center. The Board of Education honored Mayor LaGuardia by naming the new building after him. Prior to the building's completion in 1984, Music & Art (a/k/a "The Castle on the Hill") was located on Convent Avenue and 135th Street in what has since become part of City College (CCNY)'s South Campus; the building is home to A. Philip Randolph High School. Performing Arts was located in midtown on 46th Street, both in Manhattan. Mayor La Guardia regarded Music & Art as the "most hopeful accomplishment" of his long administration as mayor.
The 1980 dramatic film Fame was based on student life at the School of Performing Arts prior to its merger into LaGuardia High School. It was so successful that a television series, Fame, was launched in 1982, a Broadway show of Fame was produced in 2003–2004, and the original film was remade and released in 2009.
Alumni from LaGuardia and its two legacy schools, High School of Music and Art and School of Performing Arts, are active in supporting the students and the school through scholarships and support for special programs, school events, and reunions held at the school and throughout the world. The school's alumni organization has a full-time executive director and offices at the school. It functions as an independent charitable organization organized under the laws of New York.
Read more about this topic: Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School
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