Technical High School (Tech) was a public

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

that was located at 3215 Cuming Street in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, United States. Opened in 1923, it was said to be the largest high school west of Chicago and the largest in the Omaha area before it was closed in 1984. Today the building serves as the headquarters of

Omaha Public Schools Omaha Public Schools (OPS) is the largest school district in the state of Nebraska, United States. This public school district serves a diverse community of about 52,000 students at over 80 elementary and secondary schools in Omaha. Its distric ...

About

Technical High School was preceded by two similar schools operated by the Omaha school district. Originally established in 1903, the Commercial High School was an attempt by the district to serve the emergent service sector in the city. A later school called the Fort Street Special School for Incorrigible Boys was open from 1913 to 1917. It was intended to retain previously disengaged students by ensuring they had viable skills for the workforce upon graduation. Both of these schools were folded into Tech High when it opened.

Architecture

The architects of the building were Fred W. Clark & Edwin B. Clarke, whose firm also designed the Clifton Hill and Sherman Elementary Schools in Omaha. The five-winged building and large athletic field occupied three city blocks between Burt and Cuming Streets, from 30th to 33rd Streets in

North Omaha North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ...

. The new school opened on October 15, 1923, with nearly 2,400 pupils. By 1940 enrollment had reached 3,684. As a high school focused on

technical education A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

, Tech had many amenities designed to teach students in specific areas. It had two large gymnasiums and a swimming pool, which was for many years the only pool in any Omaha public school. The roof of the building featured a deck with a canopy that housed an exercise area. An entire floor was dedicated to classrooms for

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

. There were extensive wood and metal shops, as well as scientific laboratories and a greenhouse. The building had 124 rooms. As early as 1947, there were 2,700 students and 100 teachers. Developed with high

academic standards Academic standards are the benchmarks of quality and excellence in education such as the rigour of curricula and the difficulty of examinations. The creation of universal academic standards requires agreement on rubrics, criteria or other system ...

, the school was a forerunner in vocational high schools by offering students who largely chose not to go to college the opportunity to learn a

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

profession A profession is a field of Work (human activity), work that has been successfully professionalized. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, professionals, who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are ...

. There was a

high school radio High school radio are radio stations located at high schools and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision. The oldest extant high school AM radio station is AM 1450 KBPS in Portland, Oregon. Portland radio station KBPS, first li ...

station at Tech in the 1920s, whose call letters were KFOX. The auditorium at the school was built to accommodate 2600 people (legal

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

was listed at 2120).

Culture

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...

and his marching band appeared in October 1928.

Cornelia Otis Skinner Cornelia Otis Skinner (May 30, 1899 – July 9, 1979) was an American writer and actress. Biography Skinner was born on 30 May 1899 in Chicago, Illinois as the only child of actor Otis Skinner and actress Maud Durbin. After attending the all-gi ...

made her first high school appearance at Tech in January 1930. In November 1926 the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York gave a performance.

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

and

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939), ...

also gave performances at Tech. In 1966, an African American youth activism group called the

Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity The Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity, or BANTU, was a youth activism group focused on black power and nationalism in Omaha, Nebraska in the 1960s. Its name is a reference to the Bantu peoples of Southern Africa. It was reportedly ...

started a chapter at Tech and one of its leaders became a student government official. The group was later implicated along with the Omaha Black Panthers Party chapter and the National Committee to Combat Fascism in conspiring to kill an

Omaha Police Department The Omaha Police Department (OPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. The OPD is the largest law en ...

officer.

Notable graduates

* John Beasley, actor and acting coach; co-starred in the Academy Award-winning film ''The Apostle'' *

Ron Boone Ronald Bruce Boone (born September 6, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player. He had a 13-year career in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Boone set a record for most consecut ...

, professional basketball player *

Bob Boozer Robert Louis Boozer (April 26, 1937 – May 19, 2012) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Boozer won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics and won an NBA Championship as a member of the ...

, college and professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist in 1960 * Sen.

Ernie Chambers Ernest William Chambers (born July 10, 1937) is an American politician and civil rights activist who represented North Omaha, Nebraska, North Omaha's 11th District in the Nebraska Legislature, Nebraska State Legislature from 1971 to 2009 and ag ...

, 11th District,

Nebraska State Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the sma ...

in 1955 * Captain Alfonza W. Davis,

Tuskegee Airman The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Arm ...

* James Dworak, former Omaha mayor *

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (November 9, 1935October 2, 2020), nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Known for his fiercely competi ...

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

r for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and Creighton University stand-out *

Mel Harder Melvin Leroy Harder (October 15, 1909 – October 20, 2002), nicknamed "Chief", was an American right-handed starting pitcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball, who played his entire career with the Cleveland Indians. He spent 42 sea ...

, professional baseball player * Fred Hare, former college and professional basketball player *

Louis Hartz Louis Hartz (April 8, 1919 – January 20, 1986) was an American political scientist, historian, and a professor at Harvard University, where he taught from 1942 until 1974. Hartz's teaching and various writings—books and articles—have had an ...

, former

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and influential proponent of the idea of

American exceptionalism American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is either distinctive, unique, or exemplary compared to other nations. Proponents argue that the Culture of the United States, values, Politics of the United States, political system ...

* Jim Houston, national rodeo champion * Roman Hruska, former US Senator *

Johnny Rodgers Johnny Steven Rodgers (born July 5, 1951) is an American former professional football player. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. Rodgers played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) w ...

, former

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

superstar,

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winner, and voted the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

's "Player of the Century" * Johnny Rosenblatt, former Omaha mayor * Jack Urban, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player (

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

) * Brigadier General Kenneth Walker, US Army Air Corps, posthumous recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

in World War II, and pioneer in military aviation * Les Webster, college and professional football player for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

* Lucille Wilson, a three-time member of the US women's track team in the Olympics * Phil Wise, college and professional football player * Howard Kettelhut, Captain US Army, World War II, Bronze Medal, Silver Star, Purple Heart, credited with saving American Rangers during Battle of the Bulge

Present

The school was closed in 1984. By 1990, the building was completely renovated for use as the

' central office. It also serves as a home for the Career Center and Adult Education programs, serving over 700 students daily. Opera Omaha performed at Tech before they had facilities at the Orpheum Theater.History of Opera Omaha.

References

External links

"A History of Technical High School"
by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com
"History of Former Tech High School,"
Omaha Public Schools website * "History of the Skinner Magnet Center" by Omaha Public Schools

by the Gifford Park Neighborhood Association
"Omaha principal to reach 50 year mark"
by KETV, May 18, 2014
Historic picture of Technical High School

Historic postcard of Tech H.S.

Related publications

* Brookins, J. (1925) "Drama in a Technical High School," ''Peabody Journal of Education. 2''(4) pp. 190–196 {{Authority control Defunct schools in Omaha, Nebraska History of North Omaha, Nebraska Schools in North Omaha, Nebraska Educational institutions established in 1921 1921 establishments in Nebraska 1984 disestablishments in Nebraska Educational institutions disestablished in 1984