Lindblom Math & Science Academy
Chicago
This impressive Classical Revival-style school was designed in 1917 by Arthur Hussander for the West Englewood neighborhood. Established as a technical school, Lindblom was a longstanding rival of Lane Technical High School in prestige and popularity. However, as the neighborhood declined during the 1980s, this selective enrollment school encountered difficulties in recruiting and retaining students. Instead of abandoning the facility, however, the Chicago Board of Education hired a preservation architect to return the school to its former grandeur and to provide a model for further community revitalization efforts. Building improvements included the removal of dropped ceilings, uncovering a glass-and-steel skylight in the dance studio, restoring the proscenium arch and period details in the performance hall, installing modern mechanical systems and meeting accessibility requirements. An open house following the renovations drew more than 800 families to the high school, eliciting rave reviews from both returning and prospective students.