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Real Estate
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History Blog

Old Wilmette Schools

7/4/2016

3 Comments

 
Ok, Wilmette history nerds - I know you know more than I do.   Can you please take a look at these photos and tell me what's what, what was where, what's changed, etc?  I'd love to hear your stories of these buildings.    Thanks!
3 Comments
Patrick Leary link
7/26/2016 01:22:31 pm

Hi, Sarah! Well, since nobody else has weighed in, I'll have a go at this... Logan is McKenzie on Prairie Ave., the old Gross Point School became the American Legion post at 1925 Wilmette Avenue (near the corner with Ridge), Stolp School was right next to Central, Howard was where Howard Park is now (17th Street), Laurel School (1920-71) was at Laurel and 7th., and Central, Harper, and Highcrest are still around.

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Brian Aldridge
12/25/2017 11:51:41 pm

Hi Sarah! Patrick did a great job on his locations. Just to add a little extra: Stolp School faced west and is now a playground at Central School. The spire that rested atop Howard Jr. High (17th Street, 2 blocks south of Lake) is still there. The play fields west of the school used to be called the Village Green, and just west of the play fields was the Curtis Curling Center.
Glad to see a pic of Stolp - my two sisters went there.

Reply
Dudley Dawson
1/26/2023 10:51:14 am

I can start around 1975. Wilmette Jr High - Howard was one of two junior highs in Wilmette in the 1960's and 1970's. Howard closed after the 1979 school year and was torn in the early 1980's. Wilmette Junior High - Locust dropped the name Locust and became WJHS which is still open today and is not listed above. Stolp & Laurel were torn down before we moved to Wilmette. Central is still open, Logan changed it's name to McKenzie (after a popular principal) and is still open. The photos above for Logan and Harper are incorrect, the photos need to be swapped. Harper is still open as a grade school and has been expanded a couple of times since the 1950's. Highcrest was a grade school but closed in the early 1980's and became a park district building. It reopened as a middle school in the late 1990's and has gone through multiple additions since then. Old Gross Point school was converted to Huerter Post American Legion a long time ago but that building was torn down in 2020 and an apartment building was built on the lot. Not listed above was Bell grade school and Romona grade school. Romona was built in the late 1950's or early 60's and is still a grade school. Bell school (Skokie Boulevard) named after Millard D. Bell - Head of District 39 from 1940 to 1965) was built in 1965, closed in 1978 and was sold to a business and became offices but was later sold to the Park district which needed a building once Highcrest re-opened.
Between 1977 and 1980 Bell, Howard, Highcrest all closed due to the post baby boom drop off.
Millard Bell basically lead the charge for the rebuilding of Central & McKenzie, expanding Howard, expanding Highcrest, and later building Romona, Locust and Bell all to handle the baby boomers.

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