The Crystal Lake Central High School fieldhouse, on July 25, 2024. Part of the photo series Illustrious: The Best High School Basketball Gyms in Illinois. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)
This field house has a twin and dodged a tornado
The oldest and the original of three-Crystal Lake high schools, this exburb has a few interesting stories to go with it.
From its start when high school age children attended Union High School before splitting off to form Crystal Lake High 1924, to narrowly dodging a tornado in 1965 Crystal Lake Central has some fun stories behind it. And it’s one of the 126 gyms featured in the Illustrious book.
Central also has a twin at Maine East in Park Ridge. With exception to the color scheme and a few design elements, the gyms are mirror images of each other.
A storage room off to the side of the Crystal Lake Central High School fieldhouse, on July 25, 2024. Part of the photo series Illustrious: The Best High School Basketball Gyms in Illinois. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)
A basketball uniform from the 1933 Crystal Lake High School team hang in the hall way of what is now Crystal Lake Central, photo from July 25, 2024. The orange & black Tigers of Central were known early on as the Lakers and donned these purple & gold jerseys. Part of the photo series Illustrious: The Best High School Basketball Gyms in Illinois. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)
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