Famous people's places / Detroit – Woodbridge
Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts
Closed – archive entry · 2005
The demolished Wilbur Wright School building in Woodbridge, where singer Aaliyah studied drama and graduated in 1997.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The building at 4333 Rosa Parks Boulevard in Detroit's Woodbridge neighborhood opened in 1930 as Wilbur Wright Vocational High School, an all-boys trade school teaching graphic arts, interior design, painting and automotive technology. In 1992 it became the temporary home of the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts, even though the building had no proper auditorium or music facilities. Singer Aaliyah studied drama here from 1993 until her 1997 graduation, before her R&B career took off. The arts school moved into a purpose-built Midtown building in 2005, and the old Wilbur Wright building sat vacant afterward; plans to convert it into housing never materialized, and it was demolished in 2010.
- Opened in 1930 as Wilbur Wright Vocational High School
- Became temporary home of the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts in 1992
- Aaliyah studied drama here, graduating in 1997
- The arts school moved to a new Midtown building in 2005
- The vacant building was demolished in 2010
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 2
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Aaliyah 1979–2001 · singer, actress, dancer
Studied here
The arts high school met in the 1929 Wilbur Wright School building in Woodbridge when she studied drama here; the school moved out in 2005 and the old building was later demolished.
- Hal Newhouser 1921–1998 · baseball pitcher
Studied here
The Detroit trade school where he learned machining and pitched for the school team.
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
Source and former website ↗