Emerson High School (Indiana)

For the magnet school that currently carries the Emerson name but has relocated, see Wirt-Emerson Visual and Performing Arts High Ability Academy.

Public high school in Gary, Indiana, United States

Emerson High School
Front and eastern side of the school
Address

716 E. 7th Avenue Gary, Indiana United States
Coordinates	41°35′57″N 87°19′39″W / 41.59917°N 87.32750°W / 41.59917; -87.32750
Information
Other name	Ralph Waldo Emerson School
Type	Public high school
Established	1909 (1909)
School district	Gary Community School Corporation
Grades	9–12


Ralph Waldo Emerson School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Built	1908
Built by	E.C. Gerhard
Architect	William B. Ittner
Architectural style	Tudor Revival, Jacobethian Revival
NRHP reference No.	95000702
Added to NRHP	June 9, 1995

Emerson High School was a public high school of the Gary Community School Corporation, located in a historic facility in Gary, Indiana, 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 Gary Community School Corporation budget cuts and to severe mold issues.

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

References

"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ Sometimes Interesting (June 12, 2013). "Emerson School of Visual & Performing Arts". Sometimes Interesting. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
^ American Urbex (July 13, 2011). "Emerson School". americanurbex.com. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
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 .
"Wirt High School closing leaves staff, athletes feeling lost". nwitimes.com. May 10, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
"Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved May 1, 2016. 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 May 1, 2016. and Accompanying photographs.
"Gallery: Gary's closed, abandoned school buildings". nwitimes.com. July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.

Gary, Indiana

Neighborhoods

Education

Schools

List of schools

Gary Community School Corporation	West Side Leadership Academy Emerson School for the Visual and Performing Arts Lincoln Achievement Center
Other public schools	Lake Ridge Schools Corporation River Forest Community School Corporation Gary Charter Schools

Colleges and
universities

Landmarks

Marquette Park

Transportation

Education in Lake County, Indiana

School
districts

Public
schools

Gary CSC

Closed	William Merritt Chase Alternative School Martin Luther King Jr. Academy Lew Wallace William Wirt Emerson (1909-2008) Horace Mann High School

SC of Hammond

Closed	George Rogers Clark Donald E. Gavit Hammond High

Other public schools

Closed	Ensweiler Academy

Charter schools

Private schools

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Indiana
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Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks
Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

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