Triton College - History

History

Illinois Community College District 504 was voted into existence in a referendum on March 21, 1964. On March 27, 1965, a second referendum was passed approving the purchase of an 86 acres (34.8 ha) campus site at Fifth Avenue and Palmer Street in River Grove. The school was named Triton College in recognition of the three high school districts that it originally encompassed - Elmwood Park, Leyden, and Proviso Township. Triton College opened in 1965 and held classes at West Leyden High School and Proviso West High School. In September 1965, 1,243 freshmen were enrolled.

Construction on the permanent campus began in 1967 with the Technology building and proceeded in phases. With the opening of the Learning Resource Center in 1974, the original campus plan was essentially complete, except for some athletic facilities and the Performing Arts Center, a large auditorium planned for the area now occupied by the soccer field, but never built. The original Cernan Space Center building, located north of the Learning Resource Center, was plagued by latent construction defects, and, after being used for several years, was demolished and replaced by the present building located nearby.

In 1972, Oak Park and River Forest, Riverside Brookfield, and Ridgewood high school districts were annexed to District 504. By 1975, enrollment had grown to nearly 20,000, in-district tuition had increased to US$11 per semester hour, and Triton had become the largest single-campus community college in Illinois. The campus was expanded by the acquisition of the North Avenue Drive-In theater, which closed in 1973. This area, designated the "East Campus" and located across Fifth Avenue from the original ("West") campus, was cleared and used mainly for the construction of athletic facilities, as well as a small auditorium as part of the Collins Center. Triton also offers yo-yo club, bowling, and yoga.