Northrop was named after Cyrus Northrop, the second president of the University of Minnesota. Portables were used in 1916 until the permanent building was erected in 1923 and an addition was added in 1950. The building closed in 2005 when the Northrop students merged with the Ericsson students at the Ericsson building.

Ericsson was renamed Northrop Community School at that time.