Chicago High School.

About Chicago High School

Chicago High School was the first public high school in Chicago, Illinois. After several abortive attempts, the Chicago City Council approved a high school in 1855. John M. Van Osdel and Frederick Baumann designed the building, which opened the next year. In 1860, the coursework was organized into two branches of study. In 1869, the high school established three branch divisions in Chicago where students could take the first-year workload, then apply to finish at the main building, which then became known as Central High School. These branches evolved into full high schools in 1880 and the original Chicago High School was closed. The building was demolished in 1950.