Gary Roosevelt High School
A coalition of local and state partners is inviting residents to weigh in on the future of Gary’s historic Theodore Roosevelt High School during a community brainstorming session on Friday, April 19. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the Gary Area Career Center, 1800 E. 35th Avenue. Registration is free and required for both in-person and virtual attendance.
The session, titled Reimagine Gary Roosevelt High School, aims to gather public input on potential new uses for the former school building, which has been closed since 2019 and currently requires an estimated $20 million in repairs.
Built in 1930, Gary Roosevelt High School was one of only three Indiana high schools constructed exclusively for Black students. The grand Colonial Revival-style structure once held more than 3,000 students, making it one of the largest African American high schools in the Midwest. Its role in shaping Black education and culture in Indiana earned the building a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2023, a coalition led by the Gary East Side Community Development Corporation, the National Gary Theodore Roosevelt Alumni Association, and Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program began exploring possible reuse strategies for the school. Their efforts gained national attention earlier this year when Indiana Landmarks successfully nominated Roosevelt to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2024 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
The April 19 session will be facilitated by Black Onyx Management, a consulting firm focused on community engagement. The firm is working in partnership with several organizations, including the National Theodore Roosevelt Alumni Association, Positive Image Consulting, the City of Gary, Gary Community School Corporation, and Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program.
Organizers say the event will provide an opportunity for residents to share their vision for the building’s future and review early design ideas generated from previous focus groups.
To attend the event in person, participants can register at Eventbrite Registration. To participate online, registration is available at Microsoft Teams Virtual Event.
For additional information, contact Eunice Trotter at Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program at (317) 639-4534 or Lesley Gordon at Black Onyx Management via email at [email protected].