Otto Stechhan, one of the proponents, traveled to Germany in 1888 to examine the trade schools in that country.

[4] Already in 1888, John P. Frenzel, president of the Indianapolis Public Schools board, had become a supporter of the effort.

On June 14, 1988, the board voted to establish two manual training classes at the Indianapolis High School.

[7] The board held a nation-wide competition won by Wilson Brothers and Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to design the new school.

The building had three distinct units, separated by two towers, for the science, literary, and manual training departments.

[8] The first classes were held on February 18, 1895, with 526 students (278 boy and 248 girls) enrolled the first year,[9] exceeding the design capacity of 500.

[10] Dedication ceremonies for the Industrial Training School at 525 South Meridian Street took place on May 31, 1895.

[13] By 1940, concerns were being raised as to the desirability of the school's location, which had become almost entirely commercialized as the city grew.

Meetings of various groups in 1941 and early 1942 supported the construction of a new school at a location near Garfield Park, but the onset of World War II prevented any further action for the time being.

In mid-1948, the bids received and increasing building costs caused the board to reduce the scope in order to stay within a $3 million budget.

The revised plans consisted of a three-story classroom building with a gymnasium, cafeteria, and auditorium and the issuance of bonds was approved in December 1949.

Next to them in Building B are classrooms and science, home economics, art, and business education lab rooms.

[17] The old Meridian Street facility was renamed the Harry E. Wood Vocational Training School, which operated until 1978.

An addition to the library was opened in October 1963; it included, on the lower floor, an orchestra room for the music department.