City Colleges of Chicago - History

History

Crane Junior College opened on September 11, 1911. The first class held by the college had 30 students. By 1929 the enrollment increased to 4,000 students, and Crane was the largest community college in the United States. As a result of the Great Depression Crane closed. A public campaign against the closure involved Clarence Darrow and several former students and faculty. Less than one year after Crane closed, the community college reopened as Herzl Junior College. Afterwards two new campuses of Herzl opened. Wilson Junior College opened in the South Side. Wright Junior College opened in northwestern Chicago. After the United States entered World War II the U.S. military began using the community colleges as training locations. After the war concluded, new students entered using the GI Bill.

The system opened Bogan Junior College in southwest Chicago, Fenger College, Southeast College, and Truman College in the 1950s; originally Truman was an evening program located at Amundsen High School. Wilson was renamed Kennedy-King College, and Herzl was later renamed Malcolm X college. The system renamed the colleges to recognize leaders of the African-American Civil Rights Movement of 1955-1968. In the 1970s Fenger and Southeast colleges consolidated into Olive-Harvey College.