National Register of Historic Places

Roosevelt, Theodore, High School

Gary, Lake County, Indiana
Listed
December 19, 2012
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
12001059

About this property

Theodore Roosevelt College and Career Academy (TRCCA), formerly known as Theodore Roosevelt High School and often referred to as Gary Roosevelt, was a charter school located in the Midtown neighborhood of Gary, Indiana, United States. In February 2020, the Distressed Unit Appeal Board voted to close Roosevelt after a series of burst pipes throughout the winter of 2019 left the school in need of expensive repairs. At the time of its closing, the school was managed by EdisonLearning and was divided into a senior and collegiate academy for grades 9–12 and a junior academy for grades 7–8. Roosevelt was part of the Gary Community School Corporation until 2012, when the Indiana Department of Education took control of the school due to poor academic performance and contracted with EdisonLearning to operate the school. Under Edison, Roosevelt was reorganized into academies and the school received its final name. Athletic teams at Roosevelt were known as the Panthers and the school colors were black and gold. Roosevelt was part of the Indiana High School Athletic Association as a member of the Northwestern Conference. The origins of the school date to 1908, when a one-room school was established for Gary's African American children at Twelfth Avenue and Massachusetts Street. After portable classrooms were relocated to Twenty-fifth Avenue and Harrison Street the school was named the Roosevelt Annex. The school began offering secondary-level courses in 1925. In 1927, the Emerson School Strike prompted the city to officially segregate its schools by building a separate high school for Black students. The new building was designed by architect William Butts Ittner, constructed in 1929, and dedicated as Roosevelt High School in April 1931. It was named in honor of former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. The first graduation ceremony at the new high school was held in 1933. The Gary Roosevelt was developed during the early decades of the twentieth century as part of William Wirt's Gary System of education, which offered vocational training and college preparatory classes to high school students, as well as extracurricular activities and athletic programs. The school building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in December 2012.

Location

730 W. 26th St.
Gary, Lake County, Indiana
41.57956, -87.34548

Categories

ARCHITECTUREEDUCATIONBLACK
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Bailey, Louis J., Branch Library-Gary International Institute
Industrial
0.6 mi
North Gleason Park Community Building
Industrial
1.1 mi
St. Augustine's Episcopal Church
Industrial
1.3 mi
Carolyn Mosby Senior High Rise
Industrial
1.3 mi
Gary Public Schools Memorial Auditorium
Industrial
1.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Roosevelt, Theodore, High School listed on the National Register?

Roosevelt, Theodore, High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 19, 2012.

What type of historic resource is Roosevelt, Theodore, High School?

Roosevelt, Theodore, High School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Roosevelt, Theodore, High School?

The period of significance for Roosevelt, Theodore, High School is recorded as the industrial era.

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