High School of Art and Design

The High School of Art and Design is a Career and Technical Education high school in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1936 as the School of Industrial Art, the school moved to its Midtown Manhattan location on 56th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, in September 2012. High School of Art and Design is operated by the New York City Department of Education.HistoryOn November 8, 1936, four art teachers began what was to become the High School of Art and Design, the School of Industrial Art, in a former Manhattan elementary school at 257 West 40th Street, which for a time had housed a WPA Federal Theatre Project locale. Initially, they used orange crates and plywood to make storage and desks. One of the co-founders, John B. Kenny, became principal in 1941. The school soon moved to a building on East 79th Street in the Upper East Side, the former annex to the Benjamin Franklin High School. In September 1960, the school changed its name to the High School of Art and Design and moved to 1075 Second Avenue in east Midtown.