Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts

The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, commonly known as CAPA, is a magnet school in South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a part of the School District of Philadelphia. Students major in one of seven areas: Creative Writing, Instrumental Music, Visual Arts, Theater, Dance, Vocal Music, Film, and MDTV. The school is located on South Broad Street, in the former Ridgway Library.HistoryCAPA was started on February 6, 1978. It was originally located in the Atlantic building at Broad and Spruce Streets. Here CAPA shared space with the Philadelphia College of the Arts (now the University of the Arts (UA)). CAPA was located in rented space at 260 S. Broad St. Beginning in September 1984, it moved into Palumbo Elementary School in South Philadelphia, a school that was directly adjacent to a now demolished high rise housing project. Originally the school board was planning to close Palumbo, but it canceled the closure so CAPA could have space. The staff and administration worked for years to find a new space for the school.In 1997 CAPA moved to the restored Ridgway Library building at Broad and Christian Streets. The school received a large budget ($80,000) to help create the tools needed to succeed in the arts: film studios, dance studios, lights for professional theatre and a backup generator for them.