By the early 1890s, the Central High School building at 15th and Olive had deteriorated and become too small for the number of students attempting to enroll.

[12] On September 29, 1927, a tornado struck St. Louis, including Central High School, killing 76 people and leaving 1,500 others injured in total.

[13] The tornado killed five students—they are listed in the 1928 Central yearbook on a page with a touching poem--- and more than a dozen were injured when the school's tower collapsed.

[17] It was during the early 1950s at Central that the school's baseball team won three consecutive state championships, led by Vern Bradburn as head coach.

[19] Despite de jure integration, the St. Louis Public Schools kept no official records on the race of students from 1954 to 1963 in an effort to maintain a "color blind" policy.

[21] In early 1988, plans were announced to close the Central VPA building on Garrison Avenue for renovations and transfer its students to McKinley High School for one year.

[24][25] Among the improvements to the school was a full renovation of the theater, which included removal of the structurally unsafe balcony, installation of acoustical panels, and construction of a light and sound booth in the rear of the auditorium.

[25] In addition, the renovations included a new foyer for the theater, a new fire alarm and sprinkler system, new aluminum windows, a new art studio on the building roof, a library expansion, and updates to science laboratories.

[26] Upon the reopening of the Garrison Avenue building, the Anheuser-Busch company donated an aluminum statue of William Shakespeare to the school.

The leadership there is excellent; racial quotas have been met; enrollment is full.Despite the renovations of 1988–1989, within a decade the school building again was in need of significant repairs.

[28] By 2002, the building's roof leaked into the music wing and windows were stuck open in the auditorium leading to interior problems.

[29] In the summer of 2004, the Board announced that Central VPA would move into the former Southwest High School building at the corner of Kingshighway and Arsenal.

[30] In December 2008 as part of a promotional tour, actor Will Smith visited students at Central VPA and viewed them conducting a dance routine to one of his songs.

[39] In addition, more than 80 percent of Central VPA graduates enrolled in a public university in Missouri required remedial coursework in either English or mathematics.