- City:
- Chicago, IL
- Site Type:
- Education and Health, Schools
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)
- Started:
- 1937
- Designer:
- John Charles Christensen
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- Unknown
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
A Public Works Administration grant, along with local tax revenues, funded the construction of Sherman Elementary School at West 51st Place and South Morgan Street in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. It replaced the former Sherman School, built in 1884, that was located on the same site. The new, two-story, brick structure cost approximately $125,000 and included ten classrooms and a gymnasium. It was designed by Chicago Board of Education architect John Charles Christensen. The architectural style of the building, characterized by a low horizontal profile, wide window openings, and geometric brickwork patterns, is similar to that of many other neighborhood schools designed by Christensen during the 1930s. Construction work on the new school began in May 1937 and was completed by January 1938. Two additions to the school were completed in 1960 and 1972.
Source notes
Bauer Latoza Studio. (n.d.) “Chicago Public School Buildings, Pre-1940 Context Statement.” https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/zlup/Historic_Preservation/Publications/CPS_Bldgs_Pre_1940_Context_Statement.pdf
Chicago Board of Education. Annual Reports. Chicago, IL: Chicago Board of Education, 1937-38.
Chicago Building Permits Digital Collection 1872-1954. University of Illinois-Chicago Library. https://researchguides.uic.edu/CBP
Chicago Public Schools. Facility Assessment Report: William T. Sherman Elementary School. Last modified 21 May 2020. https://schoolreports.cps.edu/Assessment_PDF_Detail_2019/FAD_SHERMAN_610172.pdf
Sherman School of Excellence. “Our History.” Accessed 20 November 2021. https://sherman.cps.edu/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=447952&type=d
Site originally submitted by Scott Newman on November 23, 2021.
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