Site of the 1927 student strike, Emerson School, the first high school in Gary, opened in the Fall of 1909. Designed by noted architect William Ittner, and named after famous philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, it was also the first school in Gary to adopt Superintendent William Wirt’s “Work-Study-Play” system and “Unit School” (K-12) concept. During the 1980s, this building was converted into a performing arts oriented school, like the one in the movie “Fame.”