Plans call for part of historic Chicago high school to be razed

A sizable portion of Chicago Vocational Career Academy, an architecturally important building that is the city's second-largest public school, would be demolished as part of a $42 million plan to turn the structure into a tech academy. WBEZ.org says that according to Chicago Public Building Commission documents, the school's block-and-a-half long, 150,000-square-foot wing along Anthony Avenue would be razed. A hangar that once housed the school's aviation shop also would be demolished. When the work is finished, the school would become a six-year school with a curriculum focusing on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The school, designed for 6,000 students, was built on a 27-acre campus in 1940 for $3.5 million.