Famous people's places / Detroit – Midtown
Cass Technical High School
Detroit's storied magnet high school for technical, arts and academic training, opened in 1907, whose alumni include Diana Ross, Jack White and Big Sean.
01 / The story of this place
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Cass Technical High School, Detroit's storied magnet school for technical, arts and academic training, opened in 1907 and moved into an imposing Second Avenue building in 1922 that stood until it was demolished in 2011, four years after a new building rose beside it in 2005. Its alumni roster is extraordinary: Diana Ross studied fashion design here, Jack White and Big Sean are graduates decades apart, and its renowned music program shaped jazz greats Donald Byrd, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers and Geri Allen. Designer Harry Bertoia and formatter Ruth Adler Schnee studied art and design here before Cranbrook, while actors Lily Tomlin and Ellen Burstyn and singer Della Reese also passed through its halls, as did engineer John DeLorean and automaker Preston Tucker. The school is named for Michigan statesman Lewis Cass. It remains one of Detroit's most selective public high schools today.
- Detroit's premier magnet high school, opened in 1907
- Alumni include Diana Ross, Jack White, Big Sean and Lily Tomlin
- Renowned music program produced Donald Byrd, Ron Carter and Paul Chambers
- The 1922 building was replaced in 2005 and demolished in 2011
- Named for Michigan statesman Lewis Cass
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 68
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Charles Lindbergh 1902–1974 · aviator, military officer, author
Related place
His mother, Evangeline Lodge Land Lindbergh, taught chemistry at the school; it now occupies a newer building than the one she taught in.
- Diana Ross born 1944 · singer, actress
Studied here
She studied fashion design and tailoring here and graduated in January 1962. The school moved into a new building next to the old one in 2005.
- Ellen Burstyn born 1932 · actress
Studied here
She studied fashion illustration here and was junior class president. The school now uses a 2005 building next to the site of the old one, which was demolished in 2011.
- Lily Tomlin born 1939 · comedian, actress, writer
Studied here
She graduated in 1957. The school now uses a 2005 building beside the site of the old one, demolished in 2011.
- Jack White born 1975 · guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer
Studied here
Detroit's selective public high school, which he attended.
- Big Sean born 1988 · rapper, songwriter
Studied here
His high school; his foundation later donated a professional recording studio for students. The current building opened in 2005.
- Donald Byrd 1932–2013 · jazz trumpeter, bandleader, educator
Studied here
Detroit's selective public high school, famed for its music program. The historic building he attended was replaced by a new one in 2005.
- Alice Coltrane 1937–2007 · jazz pianist, harpist, composer, spiritual leader
Studied here
Detroit's famed public magnet school, where she studied classical music and played in the marching band.
- Ron Carter born 1937 · jazz double bassist, cellist, composer
Studied here
Where he switched from cello to double bass. The historic building he attended was replaced by a new one in 2005.
- Lewis Cass 1782–1866 · territorial governor, U.S. senator, secretary of state
Memorial
Detroit's renowned public magnet high school, named in his honor.
- John DeLorean 1925–2005 · automotive engineer and executive, founder of DeLorean Motor Company
Studied here
He studied the electrical curriculum at Detroit's elite public technical school; the historic 1922 building was replaced in 2005 and later demolished.
- Ray Parker Jr. born 1954 · guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer
Studied here
He spent his tenth-grade year at this selective downtown school.
- Della Reese 1931–2017 · singer, actress, television host, minister
Studied here
She graduated from Detroit's selective high school at 15. The historic building was replaced by a new one in 2005.
- Eddie Tolan 1908–1967 · sprinter, track and field athlete
Studied here
Detroit's technical high school where he set state sprint records and starred in football; the historic building he attended was replaced and later demolished.
- David Alan Grier born 1956 · actor, comedian
Studied here
Grier graduated from Detroit's elite public high school before going to the University of Michigan. The school now uses a 2005 building next to the demolished original.
- Paul Chambers 1935–1969 · jazz double bassist
Studied here
He studied here on and off, playing in the school symphony and student groups. The school moved into its current building in 2005; the old building on Second Avenue was demolished in 2011.
- Geri Allen 1957–2017 · jazz pianist, composer, educator
Studied here
She graduated from Cass Tech, where she built the foundation Belgrave's workshop would refine. The school moved into its current building in 2005; the old building on Second Avenue was demolished in 2011.
- Kenya Moore born 1971 · beauty queen, actress, television personality, entrepreneur
Studied here
Detroit's selective technical high school; Moore graduated in 1989 from the 1922 building, which was replaced by the current school next door in 2005 and demolished in 2011.
- Gerald Wilson 1918–2014 · jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger, educator
Studied here
The selective downtown high school he graduated from; he honored it in 2009 with the movement “Cass Tech” in his Detroit suite.
- Naima Mora born 1984 · fashion model
Studied here
Detroit's renowned magnet high school, from which Mora graduated in 2002 (then in its original 1922 building, replaced in 2005).
- Preston Tucker 1903–1956 · automobile entrepreneur and designer
Studied here
He attended Detroit's technical high school before leaving to work at Cadillac.
- Lucky Thompson 1924–2005 · jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist
Studied here
The downtown magnet school he graduated from in 1942 before going on the road with Erskine Hawkins.
- Dorothy Ashby 1932–1986 · jazz harpist, pianist, singer, composer
Studied here
Her high school, whose harp and vocal ensemble later inspired Detroit's program to put harps in inner-city schools.
- Paul Paray 1886–1979 · conductor, composer, organist
Recorded here
The school auditorium, also a DSO rehearsal hall, where Mercury recorded Paray's Debussy Nocturnes and Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé (1961); the 1922 building was demolished in 2011.
- Regina Carter born 1966 · jazz violinist
Studied here
Detroit's selective high school with a renowned music program; the historic building was replaced in 2005.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts born 1987 · basketball player
Studied here
The Detroit high school where he averaged 28 points a game as a senior.
- Wardell Gray 1921–1955 · jazz tenor saxophonist
Studied here
He transferred here from Northeastern High School in 1935 and left in 1936; Gerald Wilson was a classmate.
- Roland Hanna 1932–2002 · jazz pianist, composer, educator
Studied here
The downtown magnet school from which he graduated; Tommy Flanagan went to Northern High School.
- Kwame Kilpatrick born 1970 · politician, former mayor of Detroit
Studied here
The magnet high school he attended in Detroit.
- Ray Johnson 1927–1995 · collage and mail artist
Studied here
Where he studied advertising art; the building he attended was replaced by a new one and demolished in 2011.
- Donyale Luna 1945–1979 · model, actress
Studied here
Where she studied languages and performing arts; the building she attended was demolished in 2011 after the school moved next door.
- Hansen Clarke born 1957 · politician, artist
Studied here
He attended Detroit's selective public high school before finishing at a Massachusetts boarding school.
- Frank Rosolino 1926–1978 · jazz trombonist, singer
Studied here
Detroit's magnet high school, which Rosolino attended.
- Barbara-Rose Collins 1939–2021 · politician, activist
Studied here
Detroit's selective public high school, which she attended.
- Harry Bertoia 1915–1978 · sculptor, furniture and jewelry designer
Studied here
Detroit's technical high school, where he studied art, design and jewelry; the historic building he attended was replaced by a new one and demolished in 2011.
- J. C. Heard 1917–1988 · jazz drummer, bandleader
Studied here
Detroit's magnet high school, where Heard took his first formal drum lessons.
- Marcus Belgrave 1936–2015 · jazz trumpeter, educator
Worked here
Belgrave was artist in residence at Cass Tech, where bassist Marion Hayden was among his students.
- Major Holley 1924–1990 · jazz double bassist
Studied here
The magnet high school Holley attended before his Navy service.
- Loni Love born 1971 · comedian, television host, actress, author
Studied here
Love graduated in 1989, in the school's old building, demolished in 2011.
- Warren Benson 1924–2005 · composer, percussionist, teacher
Studied here
Benson graduated from Cass Tech, whose 1922 building was demolished in 2011.
- Carla Cook · jazz singer
Studied here
Where Cook played bass in the school orchestra and formed her friendship with Regina Carter.
- Brenda Jones born 1959 · union leader, city council president, congresswoman
Studied here
Detroit's selective public high school, from which she graduated.
- Rosalind Brewer born 1962 · business executive, former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Sam's Club
Studied here
She graduated from Detroit's selective technical high school in 1980.
- Cha Cha born 1980 · rapper, actress, radio personality
Studied here
Detroit's historic magnet high school, which she attended.
- Shaun Robinson born 1962 · television host, journalist, author
Studied here
Detroit's selective public high school, from which Robinson graduated.
- Peter Karmanos Jr. born 1943 · software entrepreneur, hockey owner
Studied here
Detroit's selective technical high school, one of the schools Karmanos attended.
- Joe Messina 1928–2022 · guitarist
Studied here
He studied music here before leaving school to play professionally.
- Dominique Morisseau born 1978 · playwright, actress, television writer
Studied here
Morisseau graduated from Detroit's selective public high school before studying acting at the University of Michigan.
- Benny Napoleon 1955–2020 · police chief, lawyer, Wayne County sheriff
Studied here
Detroit's selective public high school, from which he graduated.
- Tracy Reese born 1964 · fashion designer
Studied here
Detroit's selective technical high school, from which she graduated.
- Heather Ann Thompson born 1963 · historian, author
Studied here
Detroit's famous magnet high school, where she graduated; it moved into a new building in 2005.
- John Macurdy 1929–2020 · operatic bass
Studied here
Macurdy graduated from Cass Tech; the 1922 building he attended was demolished in 2011.
- Billy Mitchell 1926–2001 · jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader
Studied here
Detroit's magnet high school, where Mitchell received his early music education.
- J. Moss born 1971 · gospel singer, producer, songwriter, pastor
Studied here
He attended Cass Tech.
- Harry Begian 1921–2010 · band director, conductor, arranger
Worked here
Begian directed the school's bands for seventeen years in its 1922 building, demolished in 2011.
- Melba Joyce Boyd born 1950 · poet, editor, scholar
Worked here
She taught English at Detroit's famous magnet high school; the school moved into a new building next door in 2005 and the old one was demolished.
- Cora Brown 1914–1972 · social worker, policewoman, lawyer, state senator
Studied here
She graduated from Detroit's elite public high school in 1931.
- Muriel Costa-Greenspon 1937–2005 · operatic mezzo-soprano
Studied here
Costa-Greenspon attended Cass Tech in its 1922 building, demolished in 2011.
- Jorja Fleezanis 1952–2022 · violinist, concertmaster, teacher
Studied here
Fleezanis graduated from Cass Tech in its 1922 building, demolished in 2011.
- Ruth Adler Schnee 1923–2023 · textile and interior designer
Studied here
Where she finished high school in 1942; the historic building she attended was demolished in 2011 and replaced by a new school.
- Theodore Baskin born 1950 · oboist, professor
Studied here
Baskin studied oboe here with Arno Mariotti; the 1922 building was demolished in 2011.
- James Craig born 1956 · police chief, politician
Studied here
Detroit's selective public high school, from which he graduated before joining the police in 1977.
- Esther Gordy Edwards 1920–2011 · Motown executive, founder of the Motown Museum
Studied here
She attended Cass Tech before Howard University.
- Marion Hayden born 1952 · jazz bassist, educator
Studied here
Where teenage Hayden studied with artist in residence Marcus Belgrave.
- Evangeline Lodge Land Lindbergh 1876–1954 · chemistry teacher
Worked here
She taught chemistry for twenty years in the eight-story 1922 building, which stood beside today's Cass Tech; it closed in 2005 and was demolished in 2010–2011.
- Johnny Trudell 1939–2021 · trumpeter, flugelhornist, bandleader, composer
Studied here
Detroit's magnet high school, from which Trudell graduated.
- Neal Vernon Loving 1916–1998 · aviator, aircraft designer, aeronautical engineer
Studied here
He studied aeronautics at Cass Tech. The 1922 building he attended stood beside today's school on Grand River Avenue; it closed in 2005 and was demolished in 2010–2011.
- Paul Riser born 1943 · arranger, trombonist
Studied here
He studied classical and jazz trombone here.
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
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