On May 5, I attended a tour of the current School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) hosted by the Pendleton Neighborhood Council.
The building housing the SCPA was built in 1907 as the fourth Woodward High School, a school dating back to 1831 and the oldest high school west of the Alleghenies.
Due to shifts in population, Woodward High School moved to the neighborhood of Bond Hill in 1953, and the building became a junior high school.
SCPA moved into the building in 1976-1977 and took full occupancy of all floors in 1978.
A new building combining SCPA (grades 4-12) and Schiel Primary School (K-3) is being built on the other end of the neighborhood, near Washington Park.
When the $62 million, 250,000-square foot building opens for the 2009-2010 school year, it will be the first K-12 arts school in the nation.
Next week, I'll be posting some shots from the neighborhood and from the rooftop!
These photos have been added to the Pendleton gallery.
That gallery, and the galleries of dozens of other neighborhoods, can be found in the drop-down menu at the top of the right-hand column.
Please click on each image to enlarge to 800 x 600. Photos will open in a new browser window.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Inside the (old) SCPA
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11 comments:
Maybe I missed it -- but what is to become of the current building? It is elegant and graceful (based on your photos) and I would hate to see it forgotten in favor of the new space.
There's a possibility that CPS may choose to landbank the school - using it as a swing space for other schools under construction, etc. Hopefully that doesn't happen, and if they do decide to sell, then by Ohio law, the building must be offered to a charter school first.
If no charter school purchases it, then the building can be sold on the market. Ideally, a great developer will buy it, make some great condos, and the play yard to the north will become a public park.
Great post Kev!
^ Thanks for having me!
I was accepted into SCPA in 7th grade (dance & drama major). I just loved being a student there! Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
Glad you enjoyed them!
Great pics. My niece graduates from there in June and I will miss seeing the building. My favorite is the Rockwood drinking fountains that probably do not even work anymore. But they are wonderful.
Thanks for sharing your pics Kevin. I wanted to attend this event very badly, but it turned out to fall on the same day we moved into our new place.
As a current student at SCPA, the word is that the building will be turned into condos. Most of the fountains don't work anymore because kids shoved gum and soup down there, and those that do everyone knows that not drink out of them because the water is bad (if you fill a glass directly from any tap in the school, there are things floating in it!). As a current costuming major, I was happy to see our Cogsworth costume in your gallery. That was made for Beauty and the Beast three years ago.
^ Condos would make the most sense, definitely. But, as dew mentioned, there are a couple of steps that must occur first for that to happen.
I liked the costume shot...it was just one of those random things I always end up shooting.
Hey Kevin, just curious have you heard anything new about the future of the woodward building? Dew, do you know anything more?
Luke, I have heard absolutely nothing about the building recently, just the attempts to turn the land north of the building into greenspace/park land.
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