Emerson High School was a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

of the

Gary Community School Corporation Gary Community School Corporation is a school district headquartered in Gary, Indiana. The school district includes the majority of Gary. History In 2017, Gary Community Corp became the first school system in Indiana involved in a state tak ...

, located in a historic facility in

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, United States. In 1981, Emerson closed as a high school. For approximately 17 years, the facility housed a performing arts magnet program, which has since relocated and is still in operation. The original Emerson High School facility closed in 2008 due to lack of funds and building dilapidation, including mold.

History

Gary School Superintendent William Wirt used the Ralph Waldo Emerson School to be the first to use his new Work-Study-Play system of education, a "Whole Child" philosophy. This philosophy drew international attention to Emerson. The building opened in 1909 and included an auditorium, gymnasium, pool, and even a zoo. St. Louis architect William Ittner designed the school. There were over seven laboratories, separate band and orchestra rooms, art studios, and rooms for industrial and household arts. Athletic facilities, advanced for their time, included an indoor swimming pool, and an upstairs running track. In 1927, eighteen African American students were transferred from the Virginia Street School to Emerson due to overcrowding, and this decision precipitated the Emerson School Strike on September 26. By the end of the strike, about three-fourths of the students were boycotting. On September 30, people at a city council meeting made the decision to segregate the school again, eventually leading to the construction of another all-Black high school, Roosevelt High School. The facility closure was due to

budget cuts and to severe mold issues. The building is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs. but as of 2015, has been heavily vandalized.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Emerson Emerson William B. Ittner buildings National Register of Historic Places in Gary, Indiana Educational institutions established in 1909 1909 establishments in Indiana 1981 disestablishments in Indiana