The original high school building was erected in 1893 and fronted on Adams Street. In those days there was one long corridor extending north and south, flanked on either side by classrooms. The office for the high school was a small room at the south end of the corridor. Dr. Louis J. Block was the principal of the elementary and high school later to be housed in this building.
On February 1, 1895, some two hundred high school pupils marched from the old Grant School. They took possession of a few rooms on the second and third floors, thus, becoming the first contingent of Marshall High School pupils. The early faculty boasted only six teachers. One interesting sidelight is evidenced by the fact that Mr. Greubel taught both boys and girls calisthenics which consisted mostly of drills with wands, dumbbells and Indian Clubs. These classes were conducted in a basement room called the gymnasium.
In 1902, the east wing of what is now the "old" building was added. The laboratories, formerly housed in the basement, were moved to the first floor of the addition. While this increase in space was being completed, classes were held in the corridors, on the stairways, and in every available space, yet no one seemed to complain too much. At the completion of this new construction, the office of the principal was moved to a room west of the center stairway in the "old" building. Dr. Block maintained a library of some one hundred volumes for the use of the high school pupils. This embryo library was housed in the principal's office. Soon thereafter, many more books were added and the library was moved across the hall into room 115. The tiny library of only one hundred volumes has now grown to over 24,000 volumes and occupies two rooms on the second floor.
In 1909, the gymnasium used by both boys and girls was dedicated by Mrs. Ella Flagg Young, then the Superintendent of schools. Later, the girl's gymnasium was built on the second floor above the boys' gymnasium and at the same time was added a social room on the third floor. Because the elementary school was growing as rapidly as the high school, a new elementary school and assembly hall seating approximately 1,950 students was planned and completed in 1916.
Subsequently, the assembly hall was named the Louis J. Block Auditorium in honor of the first principal of Marshal High School.
Marshall continued its phenomenal growth and consequently in the 1920's, it was necessary to raze a playground to the east of the building and three playgrounds on the west.
The athletic field at Monroe and Kedzie came into being. As Marshall grew, classes were held in two shifts, making it necessary to extend the school day into a twelve period system.
In 1926, Mr. George a Bears succeeded Dr. Louis J. Block, who retired. Soon it became necessary to increase the facilities again. During the summer of 1928, twenty-one portables were erected on some vacant land at Kedzie and Van Buren and In September of that year, the first branch of Marshall High School was established. Mr. R. A. White, the assistant principal was in charge of the new branch for two and on-half years while the new building was being erected. In April 1931, the happy day was there. The new building was completed and the branch was abandoned.
With the erection of the east building, many changes were made. The lunchroom, formerly on the fourth floor, soon boasted a first floor location. For the first time, Marshall High had a swimming pool. The locker rooms and showers for both boys and girls occupied the entire east half of the first floor corridor extending from Monroe to Adams.
While this arrangement still remains today, some other changes have occurred. Most notably, in Marsh of 1973, a fire destroyed a large portion of the "old" building. Especially the original fourth floor. Then, in April 1975, a long awaited renovation was begun. The renovation which was finally completed in July of 1980 provided Marshall with a refurbished auditorium as well as remodeled classrooms and a sandblasted facade.
Throughout all of these changes, we have maintained a school of which we are truly proud. It is our hope that the Marshall tradition will long continue.
The community statistics and other information of Marshall High School were made available by the Census Bureau. Date Found in this section is based on the 1980 United States Census. Inaccuracies due to the vintage of the information must be acknowledged.
The John Marshall Metro High School community is located on the Chicago's mostly Black West Side and encompasses.