For approximately 17 years, the facility housed a performing arts magnet program, which has since relocated and is still in operation.

The original Emerson High School facility closed in 2008 due to lack of funds and building dilapidation, including mold.

Athletic facilities, advanced for their time, included an indoor swimming pool, and an upstairs running track.

[2] In 1927, eighteen African American students were transferred from the Virginia Street School to Emerson due to overcrowding, and this decision precipitated the Emerson School Strike on September 26.

[4] The facility closure was due to Gary Community School Corporation budget cuts and to severe mold issues.