Built on 23 acres of land purchased from the Hagemeister family,[6] the building was completed in 1924 and graduated its first class of students in 1925.

A new, larger gym was added in 1995, and a $21 million renovation project focused on science classrooms, the band and chorus rooms, and multimedia labs began in 2001 and ended in June 2003.

[2] In 2011, East added the Institute for the Fine Arts, a specialized study program in vocal and instrumental music performance.

[10] In March 1999, a 14-year old student stole a small amount of mercury from a chemistry department storage compartment.

Riviera Lanes also shut down, but was reopened in time for a bowling tournament, and all the owner lost was "109 pairs of shoes.

[12] The would-be attack was foiled when a senior who was an acquaintance of the suspects learned of the plan and reported it to school administrators.

[12] Police found nine rifles and shotguns, homemade explosives, camouflage clothing, two-way radios, and "hundreds of rounds of ammunition" in the students' houses.

[20] The school has won one WIAA state championship in girls' hockey as part of a co-op team.

[22] Though students played against each other informally since the formation of a citywide team in 1895, the East-West games did not formally begin until 1905.

[25] In the teams' 2018 meeting, East defeated West 70-0 in the highest scoring game of the rivalry's history.