The high school, located at 13th and Upshur Streets NW, was built in 1932 to accommodate 1,200 students.

[6] During the renovation period, classes were conducted at the MacFarland Middle School campus nearby at 4400 Iowa Avenue, NW.

[8] Alongside a regular college entrance curriculum, the school included business-oriented classes to accommodate the interests of white students who had previously been served by the Business High School at Ninth Street and Rhode Island Avenue Northwest.

[8] In 1934, art students under the guidance of the Baltimore-born artist Nelson Rosenberg[9] created a mural in the cafeteria.

Titled An American Panorama, the mural was created as part of the New Deal-era Public Works of Art Project.