Richard T. Crane Medical Prep High School (formerly known as Crane Tech Prep or Crane Tech High School) is a public four-year medical prep high school located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The school is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district. Crane is named for businessman Richard T. Crane. Beginning with the 2012–13 school year, the school transitioned to a medical preparatory high school, partnering with Rush Hospital, City Colleges Of Chicago, and University of Illinois at Chicago.
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History
Crane was founded as a males-only school at 12th Street and Michigan Avenue in 1890. It was originally known as the English High and Manual Training School. In 1903, the school moved to its present location and was renamed in honor of businessman Richard T. Crane. When the school went co-ed in 1954, it began to de-emphasize its "technical" label, though it continued to offer courses like auto shop and drafting. Between 1911 and 1969, the school shared its building with Crane College, the first junior college in Chicago. The college moved out in 1969 and is now known as Malcolm X College. On November 30, 2011, Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard announced that Crane, along with several other schools, would either be closed or phased out. Under this plan, Crane would remain open but no longer accept freshman students, who would be routed instead to either Wells, Manley, Marshall, or Farragut. In April 2012, however, Brizard announced that Crane would be retained and redeveloped into a health sciences high school. Crane High School previously housed Chicago Talent Development Charter High School during the 2012–13 academic year, prior to Chicago Talent's closure the following year.
Athletics
Crane became a charter member of the Chicago Public League in 1913. Since then, it has won eleven city titles in boys' basketball (1921, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1940, 1957, 1964, 1968, 1972, 2003). The school has produced a number of professional basketball players (see below).
Notable alumni
Berle Adams was a music executive and founder of Mercury Records
Harry Aleman was a mobster and feared enforcer for the Chicago Outfit
Tony Allen is a former NBA player
Cory Blackwell is a former NBA player (1984–85), who played for the Seattle SuperSonics
Milt Bocek was an MLB player (Chicago White Sox)
Avery Brundage, Olympian and President of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972.
Will Bynum (born 1983) was an NBA player and 2007 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP
Lou Chirban (1930–2008) was an MLB pitcher, one of the first five white players to join the Negro American League
Sherron Collins played basketball for the University of Kansas
Martin Cooper invented the handheld cell phone and made the first portable cellular phone call on April 3, 1973
Chaz Ebert attorney and businesswoman. 1969 Crane High School graduate
Milt Galatzer was an MLB player (Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds)
Charles M. Goodman, FAIA (1906–1992) was a master architect of modern architecture
Robert F. "Ace" Gruenig (1913–1958) was a basketball player during the 1930s and 1940s. On August 11, 1963, Gruenig was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.