The school opened in 1906 as Cardozo Elementary School and expanded to its 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m2) size in 1927 in the process of becoming Randall Junior High School.[2] Singer Marvin Gaye attended Randall and graduated in 1954.[3] The school closed in 1978. Then it became a high school career development center called Dix Street Academy until 1981.[4][5] After that, it served as a homeless shelter until 2004, and as artist's studios, the Millenium Arts Center.
In 2006, the Corcoran Gallery of Art purchased the building from the City of Washington for $6.2 million.[6] The initial redevelopment with developer Monument Realty LLC fell through. In 2010, a Telesis/Rubell group bought the property for $6.5 million and planned to redevelop the property beginning in 2012.[7]
The District had the option to reacquire the property in 2018,[8][9] but did not do so.[10]
In 2022, the Rubell Museum, a Miami-based private contemporary artmuseum, announced the opening of a second museum location, to be sited in the Randall School building. The museum owners purchased the property and renovated the main school building for the new museum, adding a multi-story apartment building next to the original structure.[11] The museum opened in October 2022.[12]