Emerson High School (Indiana)

Emerson High School was a public high school of the Gary Community School Corporation, located in a historic facility in Gary, Indiana, United States.

For the magnet school that currently carries the Emerson name but has relocated, see Wirt-Emerson Visual and Performing Arts High Ability Academy.
Emerson High School
Front and eastern side of the school
Address
716 E. 7th Avenue

Gary
,
Indiana

United States
Coordinates41°35′57″N 87°19′39″W
Information
Other nameRalph Waldo Emerson School
TypePublic high school
Established1909 (1909)
School districtGary Community School Corporation
Grades9–12
Ralph Waldo Emerson School
Built1908
Built byE.C. Gerhard
ArchitectWilliam B. Ittner
Architectural styleTudor Revival, Jacobethian Revival
NRHP reference No.95000702[1]
Added to NRHPJune 9, 1995

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.[2]

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.[3] This philosophy drew international attention to Emerson.[2]

The building opened in 1909 and included an auditorium, gymnasium, pool, and even a zoo.[3] 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.[2]

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.[4]

The facility closure was due to Gary Community School Corporation budget cuts and to severe mold issues.[5]

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places,[6] but as of 2015, has been heavily vandalized.[7]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Sometimes Interesting (12 June 2013). "Emerson School of Visual & Performing Arts". Sometimes Interesting. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  3. American Urbex. "Emerson School". americanurbex.com. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  4. Gary Public Library and Rebecca Shrum, Discover Indiana, “The Emerson School Strike of 1927 in Gary,” Discover Indiana, accessed February 10, 2022, https://publichistory.iupui.edu/items/show/605 .
  5. "Wirt High School closing leaves staff, athletes feeling lost". nwitimes.com. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  6. "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-05-01. Note: This includes Dharathula Millender; Laura Bandy; Suzanne Fischer (November 30, 1993). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Emerson High School" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-05-01. and Accompanying photographs.
  7. "Gallery: Gary's closed, abandoned school buildings". nwitimes.com. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
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