Crispus Attucks High School

Indiana, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

Find out more

Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, opened on September 12, 1927, as the city's first public high school designated specifically for African American students. Built northwest of downtown near Indiana Avenue—the heart of the city's African American business and cultural district—the red brick building with terra-cotta and limestone detailing spans two city blocks and was constructed in three phases. The main three-story structure, designed by local architects Merritt Harrison and Llewellyn A. Turnock, exemplifies Collegiate Gothic and Classical Revival styles. A three-story addition and two-story gymnasium followed in 1938, with a newer gymnasium added in 1966. Named after Crispus Attucks, the African American patriot killed in the Boston Massacre, the school earned renown for academic excellence and a dominant basketball program before remaining segregated until the late 1960s or early 1970s. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 and currently operates as a medical magnet high school.