History By Design: Glencoe Central and Crow Island schools — so different but only a year apart

History By Design is The Record’s new monthly column focusing on the North Shore’s special and influential architectural history. Local historians and authors Susan S. Benjamin and Robert A. Sideman write and research the column, and the Glencoe and Winnetka historical societies contributed photographs for this edition.

Glencoe and Winnetka are adjacent communities with similar demographics, yet with schools that have a vastly different approach to design.

Central School at 620 Greenwood Ave. in Glencoe and Crow Island School at 1112 Willow Road in Winnetka were built within a year of each other — Central School in 1939, Crow Island School in 1940.

Glencoe was all about tradition. Community leaders were intent on retaining the village’s historic residential character, which extended to its public buildings. Even earlier than the 1930s, South School adopted the colonial revival style for its architecture.

By the time Central School was erected, an even grander building was built, taking its cues from America’s colonial past. Williamsburg had been restored in the 1920s, celebrating the country’s early history, and became a popular tourist destination. Americans loved colonial architecture.

Central School is an imposing brick building, standing two stories, symmetrical with a prominent entrance flanked by columns supporting a curved broken pediment. It was designed by the firm of Armstrong, Furst & Tilton. Among its other school designs were two for the Laboratory School at the University of Chicago. John Armstrong and William Furst were both residents of Glencoe.

The colonial style persisted in popularity in Glencoe until after World War II. The red brick library was built just before America entered the war, and Village Hall was erected in 1951.

Winnetka, on the other hand, has had a long history of progressive education embodied in the philosophy of Superintendent Carleton Washburne that is epitomized in Crow Island School.

It was designed in 1939-’40 by Eliel and Eero Saarinen and the fledgling Chicago firm of Perkins, Wheeler & Will. Eliel Saarinen had served as architect for Cranbrook Schools of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, beginning in 1925 and his son, Eero, joined the firm just before the Crow Island commission. Lawrence (Larry) Perkins was the son of Dwight Perkins, a renowned school architect in Chicago.

Crow Island was immediately recognized as reflecting the future of American education and was featured in national publications. The school was arguably the first to represent a direct architectural response to the principles of progressive education. It was a school designed entirely around the child.

When Crow Island was envisioned, everyone — including the School Board, teachers, custodial staff and the children — had a say. They reviewed a 3-by-3-foot model built by the architects. Ideas were gathered to create a functional plan and an engaging learning experience.

Every feature in Crow Island is scaled to the child. Windows are low and, facing south and west, flood the classrooms with sunshine. Furniture was designed to accommodate the growing child, with seats in the auditorium becoming larger toward the rear. Flexibility was paramount. Light furniture designed by the architects was moved to the side when windmills and trains were built to teach geography and math. Each classroom had a small adjacent workshop for individual projects, its own bathroom and a courtyard. 

Crow Island School marked the beginning of an expansive career for Perkins & Will, which became the leading school architects in the Chicago area and eventually the United States. Today it has an international presence. Crow Island School is a national historic landmark.

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