North High School
The original North High School, located at 100 West 4th Street at the corner of 4th Avenue and Dennison Avenue, had opened its doors on February 3, 1893 with eight teachers and 300 students. The student body quickly outgrew the building and an annex was constructed in 1902. That, too, became overcrowded.
After a new high school was completed, the old building became Everett Junior High School, named after the first North High School principal C. D. Everett. This first building—designed by Frank Packard and built at a cost of $14,000—is still in use. As shown in the lower photograph, the turrets and other elaborate structures have since been removed from the school. (Photo courtesy of Columbus Metropolitan Libraries)
In 1921, the Columbus Board of Education purchased 13.15 acres for $35,000 to build a new high school. The property had been owned by the American Vitrified Products Company. The land bordered on a deep ravine; the ravine was considered to be an asset for science classes, as was the proximity of the property to the streetcar tracks. Many other sites had been considered, including somewhere on the campus of Ohio State University. Discarded bricks and baked clay shards had to be removed from the old brick yard before construction of the school could begin. The new building was designed by architect Frank Packard and cost $1,000,000. Construction began in 1923 and the building opened on September 2, 1924. It graduated its first class in January of 1925. For a brief time, the new high school was named Edward Orton High School. It served as an anchor for the community; often three generations of Clintonville families attended the school. It was one of the city’s top college-preparation schools; between 90 and 95 percent of the students went on to higher education. North High School was closed in 1979 as part of the city’s desegregation plan and subsequently became an adult education center and has also served as temporary quarters for schools undergoing renovations. (Photos courtesy of Leeann Faust)
August 23rd, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Such a great central location- I’m glad It’s still standing, but a shame it no longer anchors the Clintonville community as a traditional High School
July 1st, 2017 at 3:22 pm
Love this building. There appears to have been an indoor swimming pool which may have been accessed from the top floor of the 1924 addition. The steps that would have been going down into the pool are still visible. There is also a metal staircase on the exterior of the building going up directly to what would have been the pool. Painted foot prints resembling water are still on the second floor stairs going into the apparent pool room. However, it appears as though the pool has been dug out, providing a large room with high ceilings which is now accessed from the first floor. At top of this room near the ceiling, there is a wall all the way around, concealing what appear to be the pool steps. This room is now a multipurpose room. Does anyone remember the swimming pool? Any photos of the pool? I would love to see what it looked like.