HUSKY HISTORY
Located on the corner of Grand River and McNichols, the first unit of Redford High was built through 1920-22 to serve Redford Township, which was outside of Detroit’s city limits. The township and school were later annexed to Detroit in 1926, and Redford High became a part of the Detroit school system.
The Redford area grew along with the rest of the city, and in 1937 a second unit was built near the existing school. Eleven years later the school expanded again, with a new wing connecting the two existing buildings in 1948 and the construction of a boiler room. By 1953 the school had outgrown the existing athletics facilities, and built a new pool and gymnasium on the south side of the property.
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The old gym was demolished and replaced with classrooms; the swimming pool was covered was sealed off and covered with a floor so that classrooms could be placed above it. Redford also excelled at athletics, forming a fierce rivalry with nearby Ford High School when it opened in 1957. Football players Archie Matsos, Ralph Clayton, and James Woods all graduated from Redford, as well as runner Dick Sharkey and Clarke Scholes, who would go on to win the gold medal in swimming at the 1954 Helsinki Olympic Games.


























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Enrollment in 2006 was just 1,117 students, or about a third of the schools capacity. As the district began discussing closing the school, neighbors and community leaders protested, pointing out that despite its low enrollment and problematic condition, the school was still a central part of the community.

Along with 51 other schools, Redford High School closed in 2007. Students were reassigned to Ford and Cody High schools, depending on which side of Grand River they lived on. After it closed in 2007, Redford was secured and vacated.

The age and layout of the school made it difficult to find a new use for the sprawling complex. Redford was made up of six separate buildings, dating from 1920 to 1982, each built onto each other at unusual angles, isolating parts of the school. However, the land under the school was considered to be prime real estate by developers, with a high median income and densely populated. In 2010, it was announced that Lormax Stern property group was considering purchasing the school with the intent to demolish it and build a Meijer grocery store and strip mall. The sale was completed a year later, with Lormax Stern formally taking possession of the school in 2012.
A fire broke out in the gymnasium in June of 2012, injuring two firefighters and causing extensive damage.
At its peak, Redford had over 4,100 students learning in the 1.1 million square foot school.
Through the post-war years Redford built a high reputation for academics. As well as extensive class offerings, Redford had over 50 student organizations in 1960, including choirs, glee clubs, a newspaper, a radio station, rifle team, and a chess club.
Between 1971-75 there were some 4,000 students there. As big as the place was, students had to attend in shifts. Seniors started at 8 AM, Freshmen about 11:30.
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Then there were just two buildings, the original and the addition, and the floor levels didn't match, so you had to go up or down a flight between the two buildings.
As the racial makeup of the school changed rapidly, funding for school programs and oversight by the district dropped. Though another large addition was built onto the school in 1974, it was mainly geared towards vocational skills like auto work, cosmetology, hair styling, and other trades – programs which the district administrators steered black students towards.

One thing that Redford couldn’t fight though, was the overall decline in enrollment the district faced going into the 90’s. Enrollment numbers fell from around 3,000 to 2,000; with more classroom space than students, administrators closed one wing of the original 1920 building, as well as most of the third floor of the athletics addition, installing metal bars and doors. Routine maintenance fell behind, leaving the alumni association to raise money to fix and repaint the school auditorium in the 1990’s.
Information & images courtesy of Detroiturbex.com