Oak Park Vocational High School opened at this site in September 1928. Based on the pattern of Tuskegee Institute, the school provided academic, vocational, and agricultural education to African American students, and included faculty housing and dormitories. Among the school's graduates are Ralph Boston, an Olympic gold medalist in the long jump, and world-renowned opera singer Leontyne Price. A fire destroyed most of the school complex in 1957, and a new Oak Park High School building was constructed the following year.