Carl Schurz High School
- Architect
- Dwight H. Perkins
- Year
- 1910
- City
- Chicago, IL
Carl Schurz High School is a public high school in the Irving Park neighborhood on Chicago's northwest side, designed in 1910 by Dwight H. Perkins and named for the German-American statesman and Civil War general Carl Schurz. The American Institute of Architects has called it Perkins's masterpiece, praising its blend of Chicago School and Prairie School design. The current building replaced an earlier Carl Schurz High School located two blocks north, after the land was purchased in 1908.
the building
Site history. The school occupies land purchased in 1908, about two blocks south of the original Carl Schurz High School building, which stood at 2338 N. 41st Court.
the style
The building fuses the Chicago School with the residential-scaled Prairie School, an unusual pairing for an institutional building of its era. The AIA has praised it as 'an important example of early-twentieth century architecture, utilizing elements of both the Chicago and Prairie schools.'
the architect
Dwight H. Perkins designed the school in 1910; the AIA considers it his masterpiece among his body of Prairie-era work.
significance
Designated a Chicago Landmark on December 7, 1979, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The AIA named it one of the '150 great places in Illinois,' and in 2018 it was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places for the state's bicentennial.
nearby
- Charles N. Loucks House
- Peoples Gas-Irving Park Neighborhood Store
- Portage Park Theatre Building
- Basilica of St. Hyacinth
- Henry V. Peters House
- Lane Technical College Prep High School