Maine North High School
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Maine North High School is a closed high school in unincorporated Maine Township (mailing address: 9511 Harrison St., Des Plaines, Illinois) that was used in the 1980s as a filming location by motion picture director John Hughes.
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[edit] As a school
Maine North was part of the Maine Township High School District 207. It was opened in the 1970, and its enrollment peaked at about 1,600 students during the 1975-1976 school year. It was later closed in 1981 and sat abandoned. The closing of Maine North was controversial, considering that it was the most modern of the Maine Township schools. However, its lack of alumni also meant that it lacked critical support in the community to keep its doors open. The school was sold along with the District's administrative building, which had its offices relocated to Maine South High School.
[edit] Later uses
After its closing, Maine North was used extensively for location shooting of the movie The Breakfast Club. The school library scenes in the movie were actually filmed on a set constructed in the school's gymnasium. The school was also used as a training facility for the Chicago Blitz of the short-lived United States Football League and as a mortuary college.
[edit] Today
The Maine North High School building is now used as a district headquarters for the Illinois State Police, a communications center for the Cook County Sheriff's Department, an Illinois Lottery payment office, and a neighborhood youth center. The land near the school that was used for athletic fields has been redeveloped into townhomes.
