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. 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, 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. 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, 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 or
profession. There was a
high school radio 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 was listed at 2120).
Culture John Philip Sousa and his marching band appeared in October 1928.
Cornelia Otis Skinner 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 and
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. also gave performances at Tech. In 1966, an African American youth activism group called the
Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity 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 officer. == Notable graduates ==