Baltimore Polytechnic Institute was founded in 1883 when Joshua Plaskitt petitioned the city authorities to establish an engineering school. The first school building, named the Baltimore Manual Training School, opened with 60 students and was located on Courtland Street near the Orleans Street viaduct. In the 1890's the school name was changed to the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. The curriculum was revised and strengthened under the leadership of Dr. Richard Grady, 1883-1886, and Lt. John Ford, 1886-1890, the first two principals of BPI. Poly soon became one of the country's outstanding engineering high schools under the leadership of Lieutenant William R. King, the third principal of the school.

The steady growth of the school population resulted in the school's relocation to North Avenue and Calvert Street in 1913. Under the leadership of Dr. Wilmer Dehuff, principal from 1921-1958, the curricular offerings were expanded and many athletic and non-athletic activities were developed. In 1952, Poly became the first high school in the Baltimore City school system to racially integrate its student body.

In 1967, under the leadership of Mr. Claude Burkert, principal from 1958-1969, the school was relocated to its present location on a 53 acre tract of land at Falls Road and Cold Spring Lane. This two-school campus complex includes five buildings and spacious grounds. Poly students attend academic classes in Dehuff Hall and engineering classes in Burkert Hall. Poly students share two buildings, the cafeteria/auditorium and gymnasium areas, with Western high school students. Although the buildings and grounds are shared, the two schools operate completely separate programs.

It was during the administration of Mr. William Gerardi, principal from 1969-1980, that female students were first admitted to Poly. In 1974, females became full-time students and the school became co-ed. The centennial of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute was celebrated in 1983-1984 during the administration of Mr. Zeney Jacobs, who was principal from 1980 until 1984, followed by Gary Thrift, 1984-1985 and John Dohler, 1985-1990. During the 1990-1991 school year, Mrs. Barbara Stricklin was appointed interim director and became the first female administrator to lead the school. Dr. Albert Strickland, 1991-1994, and Ian Cohen 1994-2003, followed, developing and expanding student opportunities, especially in the areas of foreign languages, science, writing across the curriculum, science and engineering research, and technology.

A TIMS grant in 2000 provided the opportunity to wire the entire school complex for internet access.

During the 2001-2002 school year, Poly's long tradition of academic excellence was recognized by the Maryland State Department of Education when Poly was named a "Blue Ribbon School of Excellence."

Ms. Sharon Kanter served as interim director from 2003-2004 during the search for our current director, Dr. Barney J. Wilson. Dr. Wilson, Class of 1976, is the fourth Poly graduate and the first African American to lead the school. His vision is to build on the school's strong tradition of academic excellence in new ways, and so position Poly and its graduates for long-term success in an increasingly global and technological society.

Today, Poly offers Baltimore students an excellent college preparatory program through its A and B Courses which continue to emphasize science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Poly's commitment to academic excellence remains unchanged.