Southwestern was designed with a gymnasium, swimming pool, extensive track and field space, and an auditorium.

That year the student body at that time was described as "melting-pot" by Glen Macnow of Detroit Free Press.

[5] In the 1980s Guam-born Manny Crisostomo, working for the Detroit Free Press, received permission from the DPS superintendent to photograph the inside of the school, including the students.

Population decline continued in Detroit, and specifically in the quantity of schoolchildren in neighborhoods served by Southwestern High School.

Robert Bobb, who served as the Detroit Public Schools emergency manager, had almost closed Southwestern.

Aaron Foley of MLive said that the protesters were concerned about a loss of bilingual education employees and fears of a rivalry with students at Western International High School.

Southwestern Community Village, not trying to deal with the deterioration that had occurred as a result of the fire, decided to drop the plans.

Soon after their purchase, Sakthi Automotive began tearing away the track field behind Southwestern High School, making way for the construction of a large facility.

In September 2020, real estate owner Dan Gilbert purchased the Southwestern High School site from Sakthi Automotive for $38.5 million.

On March 3, 2013, a trespasser deliberately set a fire in the school's cafeteria, which damaged several nearby rooms within the newer wing.

[8] As of 2000 the school offered training programs in business-oriented technical skills and by that year it included a computer-assisted design computer center.

That year the technical schools had limited numbers of recruitment information available in Spanish, the primary language of many students at Southwestern.