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Washburne Trade School Chicago,
3231-3337 W 31st St. (Nimmons & Fellows, 1909)
3100-3148 S. Kedzie Ave. (S.D. Gratias, 1935)
For more than four decades, the prestigious Washburne Trade School occupied
these two iconic industrial buildings. Originally a liquid carbide factory,
the complex was bought by Washburne in 1958 to house their building trades
and culinary arts programs.
The soaring tower on Nimmons & Fellows’s
red-brick building features the firm’s signature Prairie School detailing. |
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The second building is a mid-1930s Art Moderne design. Vertical piers break
up the façade of the 1930s building, while horizontal bands of blonde brick
and steel windows curve gracefully in towards the main entrance. Both
buildings are listed in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey as
orange-rated potential landmarks.
Falling enrollment led the Chicago Board of Education to close the school in
the mid-1990s and the structures were left to decay. In June of 2005, school
officials applied for a demolition permit, but have yet to act on plans to
clear the property. Neighborhood activists have pushed for a city park on
the 11-acre site, though significant portions of these buildings still could
be preserved for reuse.
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 What Can I Do?
Urge the Mayor and Alderman Ricardo Munoz, 22nd Ward, to push for a park plan
that includes preservation. Contact Mayor Richard Daley, Office of the Mayor
City Hall - 121 N. LaSalle, Room 507, Chicago, IL 60602 and Alderman Ricardo
Munoz, 2500 S. St Louis, Chicago, IL 60623, phone: 773-762-1771 or email
rmunoz@cityofchicago.org.
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