National Register of Historic Places

Overton, Anthony, Elementary School

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Listed
September 5, 2016
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
16000578

About this property

The Anthony Overton Elementary School is a historic school building at 221 E. 49th Street in the Grand Boulevard community of Chicago, Illinois. The building is in the process of being turned into a community arts center by the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative. Built in 1963, the school was one of three prototype schools designed to relieve overcrowding in poor, majority black neighborhoods; it mainly served students from the nearby Robert Taylor Homes housing project. The school was named for Anthony Overton, a black business leader and founder of the Chicago Bee. The school served students until 2013, when it was closed as part of wave of public school closings in Chicago. Architects Perkins & Will designed the school in the mid-century modern style, which was chosen as a departure from institutional school buildings. The school was divided into three three-story sections to avoid the dominating impression of a single building; each section included large corner windows shaded by canopies and used colorful yellow brick to stand out from surrounding buildings. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 6, 2016.

Location

221 E. 49th St.
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
41.80566, -87.62068

Categories

ARCHITECTUREEDUCATION
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Rosenwald Apartment Building
Industrial
0.4 mi
Abbott, Robert S., House
Industrial
0.4 mi
De Priest, Oscar Stanton, House
Industrial
0.5 mi
Swift House
Civil War
0.5 mi
Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church
Colonial
0.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Red Summer — Chicago Race Riot 1919
1919Modern
3.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Overton, Anthony, Elementary School listed on the National Register?

Overton, Anthony, Elementary School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 5, 2016.

What type of historic resource is Overton, Anthony, Elementary School?

Overton, Anthony, Elementary School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Overton, Anthony, Elementary School?

The period of significance for Overton, Anthony, Elementary School is recorded as the industrial era.

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