AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDING REVIVAL
McKinley High School
East Baton Rouge Parish
The original McKinley Senior High School Building was built in 1926 as Baton Rouge Colored High School, and is located at 1520 Thomas H. Delpit Drive in Baton Rouge. This original building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 16, 1981. It is the oldest high school established for African Americans in East Baton Rouge Parish and the entire state of Louisiana. It was later re-named in honor of the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley. A second, new McKinley High School was built in 1950 on McCalop Street, next to present day I-10. The Thomas H. Delpit Drive facility continued to function as McKinley Elementary School. This second iteration of the school functioned as McKinley Junior and Senior High School until 1961, when the third and present day McKinley Senior High School was built at 800 East McKinley Street. The McKinley Street school housed the senior high school students only. The junior high school remained at the second site, and the first site remained McKinley Elementary until 1992, when it was purchased by the McKinley Alumni Association. That original building was destroyed by a fire on July 3, 1998 but was faithfully rebuilt and reopened as the current Alumni Association Community Center in 2006. The second iteration was demolished and rebuilt and is a magnet middle school, and the third iteration McKinley High School is still in operation.
McKinley High School
OPENED: 1961
CLOSED: N/A
OTHER NAMES OF SCHOOL: McKinley Senior High School, McKinley High Alumni Center, McKinley Middle Magnet School
OTHER USES/CURRENT USE: High school; Alumni center
800 E. McKinley Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
