Schenley High School, located in the North Oakland neighborhood at the edge of the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a historic building opened in 1916 that was a part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The Schenley High School building was closed in June 2008 in a 5–4 vote by the school district. Its staff and students were relocated the following year. The Schenley name was retired and its last class graduated in 2011. 

​

History

​

Schenley High School was named for Pittsburgh philanthropist Mary Schenley, on whose land the school was built. It was designed by Edward Stotz as a triangle with rounded corners[4] and constructed of Indiana limestone, the best of its kind. Schenley was the first high school in the United States to cost more than one million dollars to build.[5] When Schenley opened in 1916, there were 1800 students and 70 teachers. Through public donation a Skinner Pipe Organ was donated to the school, the organ remained in the auditorium until the closing of the school. The school published "The Triangle," a monthly student newspaper founded in 1919 and named for the building's original shape. The school's highest enrollment was 3012 in March 1940. Schenley sports teams won many city and state championships, including several state basketball titles in the 1970s. In 1983, the school was rededicated as the Schenley High School Teacher Center, an innovative program in which all of the district's teachers would cycle through Schenley to update methods. The program would be deemed successful enough to warrant a visit from then United States Secretary of Education William Bennet. In 1987, a new wing was added to the building

​

Notable Alumni

​

• William Albertson American Communist politician framed by the FBI

• Jesse Andrews – novelist and screenwriter known for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.[7]

• Derrick Bell – Harvard Law School's first African American professor[8][9]

• George Benson – Jazz/R&B musician and recording artist

• DeJuan Blair – Washington Wizards NBA player

• Larry Brown – Washington Redskins player[8][10]

• Ray Brown – jazz musician[8]

• Billy Cox – bassist who played with Jimi Hendrix

• Frank Curto – chief horticulturist, Pittsburgh Dept. of Parks and Recreation

• Darnell Dinkins – NFL player[8][11]

• Ken Durrett – NBA player

• Monica Ellis - member of 2024 Grammy award winning Imani Winds

• Walt Harper – jazz musician[8]

• Pearl Berg - Supercentenarian

• Philip Hershkovitz - mammalogist

• Art Hyatt – NBL pro basketball player[12]

• DeAndre Kane - basketball player in the Israeli Premier League and EuroLeague

• D. J. Kennedy – NBA player

• Maurice Lucas – NBA player for 1977 champion Portland Trail Blazers[8]

• Robert Mosley – opera singer

• Bill Nunn – actor[13]

• Bob Prince – Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer[14]

• Bruno Sammartino – Professional wrestler[8]

• Raymond Saunders – Painter, Professor Emeritus[8]

• Clifford Shull – Nobel laureate[8]

• Ted Stepien – Cleveland Cavaliers owner from 1980–83

• Benjamin Tatar – actor[15]

• Stanley Turrentine – jazz musician[8]

• Andy Warhol – iconic artist[8]