I was recently at North High School which got me thinking about the history of this North Minneapolis institution. While most folks realize there was the “old” North before the current building, many don’t realize there have actually been four North buildings.
The first North Side High building was built in 1888 on the NE corner of 18th and Emerson Aves N., and was only the second Minneapolis high school built and the first outside of downtown. John N. Greer was the first principal of North Side High from 1888-1892 followed by Waldo Hobbs in 1892. This first building actually had students in grades first through 12th. The class of 1891, which had 16 students, was the first to graduate from North Side High. Their class motto was “Fideli certa merces” which is Latin for “to the faithful, reward is certain.” Within a few years, it became apparent that this school was not big enough for the number of students in the area, and that a new North Side High needed to be built. When that happened, this building was renamed Logan School for John A. Logan, founder of the Grand Army of the Republic. It remained an elementary school until it closed in 1942.
The second North Side High was a grand building on 17th and Fremont Aves N built in 1896. Additions were made in 1908 and 1910. It drew students not only from all of North Minneapolis but also from Northeast and South Minneapolis, as well as other towns like Robbinsdale and Brooklyn Center. On June 18, 1913 a fire destroyed the building. The students were moved to the recently retired Central High building downtown for a year while a new North High was built. Waldo Hobbs was the principal who led the school though all the years in this building and oversaw the rebuilding of a new North High. Arguably the best known graduate of this building was Minnesota Governor Floyd B. Olson.
The third North High School opened in 1914 on the same site as the second building at 17th and Fremont Aves N. Additions were constructed in 1921, 1923 and 1939. Waldo Hobbs would also be the principal at this building until 1934. He served as a principal in each of the first three buildings for a total of 42 years! It’s this building that folks are referring to when they talk about the “old North.” It would serve the students of North Minneapolis for 59 years. Blaine, Bremer, Bryn Mawr, Cleveland, Grant, Hall, Hawthorne, Harrison, Hay, Lowell and Willard elementary schools all fed into this North High.
It was this North building that first had an athletic field. It was the last high school to get it’s own field. The field was made by filling in the adjacent Todd’s Pond, which at first was more of a mud field. In 1938 the field was completely redone to provide better drainage. It would be dedicated to former North High principal Waldo Hobbs.
During a 1963 assessment of all Minneapolis schools, it was determined that if the building was to be remain a secondary school it needed “extensive rehabilitation and modernization to meet present day standards of health, safety and educational adequacy.” Eventually the decision was made to build a new building. The fourth, and current, North High opened in 1973 at 1500 James Ave N. While the school moved a few blocks away, Hobbs Field remains on Fremont but was moved a bit to the south where the old buildings once stood. In 1983 KBEM radio moved into North High where it still remains.
In the early 2000s the school board closed a number of North’s feeder schools which led to lower enrollment. In October 2010, Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson recommended to the Board of Education the phasing out of North High. The Northside community was up in arms and fought the closing. The school remained open and has steadily increased enrollment. 2024 marked the official opening of an expanded and renovated North High School and the new North Career & Technical Education (CTE) Center which was built onto North’s building.
While there have been many changes over its 137-year history, North High School remains a much loved part of the Northside community.