Lincoln-Way Central High School

The original Lincoln-Way

Located in New Lenox along the Lincoln Highway, the country’s first intercontinental road, the school took its namesake from its address.

Established in 1952, the students were a mixed from four other high school districts; Joliet Township, Bloom Township, Sandburg, & Peotone. In 2001 the school added “Central” to its name as the schools campus for freshmen and sophomores only became a full-fledged high school known as Lincoln-Way East. Central kept its red & black colors along with the “Knights” nickname.

There have been multiple additions to the school since it was built, much of which happened in the 1960s as the Baby Boom increased enrollment. Compared to other gyms from the time, the main gym doesn’t look like it was original to 1952, but I don’t know for sure. The field house, show below, was added in 1994.

The field house has three full-length basketball courts surrounded by a rubberized running track with lanes. It is not a full-length 400-meter track. There are retractable bleachers along at least one wall and they cover up the track went extended.