The History of Chicago Near North High School
Chicago (population: 2.8 million) is located along the shores of Lake Michigan in northeastern Illinois. From its early days as a Potawatomie settlement, then as the site of Fort Dearborn in 1803, which led up to the formation of the city and its incorporation in 1833 and 1837, respectively, the “City of Big Shoulders” became a major location in the US for various reasons. Railroads and water transportation were two reasons why Chicago was one of the fastest growing cities in the country during the 19th Century. Today, numerous railroads and highways of interstate, US, state, and local designations bring people together in the city on a daily basis, as does air traffic at O’Hare and Midway Airports. Chicago is a melting pot of people from many nationalities, making it ethnically diverse, and thus, is referred to as “the cultural, economic, and financial capital of the Midwest” (according to Wikipedia). It is our understanding in researching Near North High School that it replaced the former Cooley High School around the late 1970’s, being located at 1450 North Larrabee. Near North educated students from the “near north” side of Chicago, and continued to do so until closing after the 2000-01 school year as 2001 graduate Jay Ferguson tells us. The building that housed Near North still stands today. As Garrett Klunk let us know, it is still utilized as a training facility for the Chicago Fire Department. A nice website for Near North High School alumni to visit is: |
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