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Have you ever been stuck in traffic on the Skyway and seen this enormous art deco'ish building and what looks like an airplane hangar next to it? That is Chicago Vocational High School & next to it is indeed the school's airplane hangar. Today the school is the 2nd largest school in Chicago. It opened in 1940 with an all-male class of 850. The next year the school was turned over to the United States Navy. The country was focused on the conflict overseas and preparing for the United States' entry. The plan was to have students be trained to be mechanics who could both build and repair aircraft. Later during the war the program was expanded to providing training in other areas for civilians for national defense jobs. As the war progressed, the school began to operate 24 hours a day to accommodate the training of so many people. In 1946, after the war, the Navy returned the school to the Chicago Public School system and for the first time, the school admitted women for education in a non-wartime setting. The aviation program, now civilian based, continued for several more years at the school. In 1948 the students restored a Stinson monoplane. The school received special permission to fly it over to Midway Airport. How did they manage that? They wheeled the plane onto Anthony Avenue and used that as their runway. The Skyway wasn't built for another 10 years so Anthony Avenue I guess would make a pretty good runway. I have heard similar wartime aviation programs ran at Roosevelt and Lane Tech schools. Does anyone have any more information or photos about that? I'd love to learn more. Here is a video of an actual plane that was used as a teaching tool at this school for 20 years: Click here for a good history of the school. For more information see this WBEZ article about recent changes at the property: http://www.wbez.org/blogs/lee-bey/2013-07/chicago-vocational-renovation-project-moves-forward-108055  
12 Comments
John R. Dahl
1/24/2016 10:21:00 pm
I had Aircraft Mechanics and Structural Shop in 1955, My teacher was Mr Woodville.
That's so cool. Thank you for posting.
1/25/2016 12:59:14 pm
1/25/2016 11:10:07 am
I interviewed John Dorigan who taught aviation at CVS for ~30 years. He donated several photos to our historical society including a few from the Anthony Avenue takeoff. Among the photos are some from the WWII era when CVS was a Naval Training Center.
Harold Williams
3/6/2018 04:25:08 pm
I’m pushing to make this school a landmark....
Deborah mercer
2/19/2024 04:50:04 pm
I'm doing research on CVS and would love to see a photo of the Anthony Ave. takeoff!
Thomas D Milton
6/12/2023 09:06:02 am
I taught Aviation at CVS with the aforementioned Mr John Dorigan and Woodville.
Deborah Mercer
2/19/2024 04:51:40 pm
I am researching CVS and would love to see any photos of the interior of the building that you'd be willing to share.
Rod Sellers
2/19/2024 06:13:24 pm
Tried to send some pics. Did not have a valid e-mail address.
DeLeon
3/6/2024 05:27:16 pm
If I could purchase this lot and property, I would return it to its days of glory. In addition to restarting the aviation school, I'd dedicate each of the school's wings to the study of infrastructure/engineer schools teaching students how to build roads, bridges, buildings, use Tesla energies, study the US declassified technologies patents. I would teach how to depend on technology as a last resort and how to restore the elements to their once toxic free states. Chicago's children have the capacity to develop toxic free industries and sound infrastructure. CVS would be the first to say, "No more do we depend on international companies to provide us with mass transit vehicles, street furniture, agricultural products, sound aircraft, etc. We can produce it and we learned to produce it at CVS (Chicago's Vocational School)."
Warren h. Guest
10/14/2024 07:22:34 pm
1960-1962 majored in aviation power plants with John Woodville and Harland T. Hunt. Winged walked the two T 33 from Midway to CVS. Went on as a post grad. Aviation airframe 6/17/2025 02:48:57 am
Attended both the Dunbar and CVS aviation programs. Teachers were Dorsey,Dorrigan,Courtney and Milton. Cornelius Coffey was my examiner. Worked helicopters in Chicago and Texas and later Major Airlines in Texas. For the past 37years I've been employed at Southwest Airlines as an Maintenance Quality Control Inspector in Houston Leave a Reply. |
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