[3]: 32  The school was built northwest of downtown Indianapolis near Indiana Avenue (the business and cultural hub of the city's African American community) and opened on September 12, 1927, when it was the only public high school in the city designated specifically for African Americans.

The red brick building with terra-cotta and limestone detailing covers a two-square-block area and was built in three phases.

A three-story main building, designed by local architects Merritt Harrison and Llewellyn A. Turnock, was constructed in 1927.

During its early years, Attucks was known for its excellence in academics, in addition to its successful athletic teams, especially its basketball program.

The high school also became a gathering place and a source of pride for the city's African American community.

In 1956, the team became the first state champions in IHSAA history to complete a season undefeated since the Indiana High School Boys Basketball Tournament began in 1911.

[4]: 11 [5]: 4  In 1922, as interest in building an all-black public high school increased, the IPS board decided to pursue the idea and began to move ahead with its plans.

[4]: 12–13 In addition to its students, Attucks's first principal, Matthias Nolcox, and its initial faculty were African Americans, making it the only all-black high school in Indianapolis.

[6][7]: 39  During these early years, Attucks's percentage of teachers with advanced degrees was higher than any other school in the area.

Because of its faculty and varied curriculum, Attucks became known for its excellence in academics, in addition to its successful athletic programs.

The school's athletic teams, especially its basketball program, "represented the African American community in Indianapolis.

Notable visitors included Jesse Owens, Langston Hughes, Thurgood Marshall, George Washington Carver, and Floyd Patterson, as well as other notable athletes, authors, scientists, politicians, and civil rights activists who came to the city to speak the previous Sunday at the nearby Senate Avenue Young Men's Christian Association's speakers' series, called "Monster Meetings".

[13]: 3 [3]: 59–60 and 62–63  Attucks had two white educators on its faculty in 1956 and continued to remain the only "high school in the city with a single-race student body.

[16] In addition to Bryant and Robertson, several other Attucks players and coaches have been inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

[4]: 23 [3]: 77  On March 19, 1955, the Attucks team, led by future professional star and National Basketball Association Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, won the IHSAA's state championship, beating Gary's Roosevelt High School, 97–64, and becoming the first all-black school in the nation to win a state title.

In 1970, U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Hugh Dillin "found IPS guilty of operating a segregated school system.

As a result of the lengthy appeals process, sources indicate that it is difficult to specify an exact date for Attucks's formal desegregation.

School historians believe that the first white students enrolled at Attucks's main campus in 1971, although others have suggested that it occurred in 1968.

[7]: 172 [12]: 15 [3]: 147 In 1981, IPS administrators considered closing the high school due to rapidly declining enrollment.

[7]: 173 and 175–77 The school covers a two-square-block area and was built in three phases: a three-story, flat-roofed main building with an E-shaped plan on the east, constructed in 1927; a three-story addition to the west of the main building and a two-story gymnasium, built in 1938; and a newer, two-story gymnasium constructed in 1966.

The main building is constructed primarily of red brick and includes buff-colored glazed architectural terra-cotta detailing.

Terra-cotta panels above the third-floor windows contain the words Attucks High School inscribed in Old English typeface.

Notable features of the original interior include the main entry foyer with its terrazzo floors and a triple-arched arcade with terra-cotta columns.

[19] The museum houses four galleries and 38 exhibits recalling local, state, national, and international African American history.