Edwin Denby High School opened in 1930 and was designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in the Art Deco style. The building features exterior sculpture work in terra cotta by noted Detroit artisan Corrado Parducci.

Denby was born in Evansville, Ind., on Feb. 18, 1870, but moved to China after his father was appointed U.S. minister there by President Grover Cleveland. He moved back to the United States to attend law school at the University of Michigan, and, after graduation, began practicing law in Detroit. He enlisted in the Navy in 1898.

He was elected to the state House in 1903 and, a year later, to Michigan's 1st Congressional District. He would serve from 1905 to 1911, including a stint as chairman of the House Committee on Naval Affairs. After being defeated in the 1910 election, he returned to Detroit to continue practicing law. When the U.S. entered World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving until being discharged in 1919.

In 1921, President Warren G. Harding named Denby secretary of the Navy, a position he would continue to hold after Calvin Coolidge succeeded Harding following the latter's death in office. Denby got wrapped up in the Teapot Dome oil scandal and was forced to resign. Despite his implication in the affair, he avoided an indictment. Afterward, Denby returned to the Motor City and resumed his law practice. He died Feb. 8, 1929, just 10 days before his 59th birthday.

Despite the scandal that ended his career in Washington, the Detroit Public Schools decided to name this high school after him. It opened a year after his death.

The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the last surviving historic Detroit high schools still operating. A series of additions gave Denby High a capacity of 2,875 students. Among the schools alumni are singer Keith Washington; NFL players Shantee Orr and Willie Osley; Olympians Roger Young and Sheila Young; journalists Bill Bonds and Jerry Hodak; and politicians Curtis, Dennis and John Hertel.

In 2011, a $16.5 million renovation was completed that saw the school's auditorium restored and new areas for students built.