The High School of Graphic Communication Arts (H.S.G.C.A.) is a

vocational high school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational ...

located in the

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

section of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

in New York City. Founded in 1925 as the New York School of Printing, the school is divided into five academies that offer basic instruction in several fields including

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

, and

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

History

The building that now houses the school was built in 1959 by the architectural firm of Kelly & Gruzen (now known as Gruzen Samton Architects) and is one of the best known structures designed utilizing a vigorous display of the international architectural style movement in the city. It was also the first high school in the city to have

escalators An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizon ...

. The school is home to a mural, located at its main entrance, that was designed by

Hans Hofmann Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 – February 17, 1966) was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an artist and teacher. His career spanned two generations and two continents, and is considered to have both preceded and influenced Abstrac ...

, one of the leading artists of the

Abstract Expressionist Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

movement. The building is located on West 49th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues. The school was the original home of

Metropolitan Playhouse The Metropolitan Playhouse was a resident producing theater in New York City founded in 1992 by Parsifal's Productions, Inc. Originally producing in the auditorium of The High School for Graphic Communication Arts on W. 49th Street, the theater ...

, resident until 1995, and has since leased some of its space to the Manhattan Playhouse to serve as a community theater that showcases many local

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

productions. In October 2010, it was announced that the school was on the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...

's shortlist of schools targeted for closing. It was one of two schools in Manhattan on the list, and the only high school in the borough scheduled to be closed due to poor academic performance. On 26 April 2012, the city's Board of Education voted to close the school after the then-current class graduated in June 2012. On May 11, 2012, the city's education department announced that the school would be reopened in the fall 2012 as the Creative Digital Minds High School. However, on June 29, 2012, a ruling by a legal arbitrator announced that all 24 schools slated to close under the city's "Turn Around" program (which included Graphics) would remain open. The ruling halted a central element of Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

's plans for closing and reopening the affected schools, saying its method for overhauling the staff at those institutions violated existing labor contracts. The

Success Academy Charter Schools Success Academy Charter Schools, originally Harlem Success Academy, is a charter school operator in New York City. Eva Moskowitz, a former city council member for the Upper East Side, is its founder and CEO. It has 47 schools in the New York ...

group planned to open an elementary school in the same building as the high school in 2013. The location was suggested by the city's education department. In addition, Success Academy Charter School – Manhattan Middle School was planned to open for school year 2015–2016 to educate the middle school grades of several other Success Academies.

Notable alumni

* Carolyn Butts – journalist, literary agent, film producer, and founding publisher of ''African Voices'' literary magazine *

Dan Dorfman Dan Dorfman (October 24, 1931 – June 16, 2012) was an American financial journalist, at one time a columnist for the ''New York Sun'' newspaper. Dorfman was a prominent CNBC commentator in the 1990s and a columnist for ''Money'' magazine. He ...

– financial journalist *

David Horowitz David Joel Horowitz (January 10, 1939 – April 29, 2025) was an American conservative writer and activist. He was a founder and president of the David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC); editor of the Center's website '' FrontPage Magazine''; and ...

–

consumer advocate Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent businesse ...

* Wilbert Mora – late New York City Police Officer who was shot on January 21, 2022, while responding to a domestic violence call in Harlem. * Pete El Conde Rodriguez - Salsa singerWikipedia

References

External links

*
School Improvement Scenario website
{{authority control Public high schools in Manhattan Educational institutions established in 1925 School buildings completed in 1959 Modernist architecture in New York City International style architecture in New York City Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan 1925 establishments in New York City