Near North Side in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Assumption School

Frederick Foltz, architect; 1899

— Chicago Landmark —

Assumption School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 26, 2024

1. Assumption School Marker

Inscription. In 1899, the Catholic Church summoned Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, known for her mission work in New York, to Chicago in order to build and lead Assumption School. The school marks the westward expansion of her mission work and it coincided with her emergence as a national figure in education and social justice. In 1946, Mother Cabrini was the first American to be canonized as a saint. The school became an important neighborhood institution for the area's Italian-Americans from the 1900s-1945. Architecturally, the building is a unique example of a late-nineteenth century urban school designed in the Beaux Arts style, as indicated by the ornate entrance and carved stone keystones, capitals, and foliated brackets.

Designated on July 9, 2003
Richard M. Daley, Mayor

Erected 2003 by Commission on Chicago Landmarks; City of Chicago.

Topics and series. This historical

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marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Education • Immigration • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Illinois, Chicago Landmarks Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1899.

Location. 41° 53.635′ N, 87° 38.19′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in the Near North Side. It is on West Erie Street east of North Orleans Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 319 West Erie Street, Chicago IL 60654, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 26, 2024

2. Assumption School Marker

Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: (Former) Engine Company 42 Firehouse (approx. 0.2 miles away); Welcome to Jesse White Nature Garden (approx. ¼ mile away); Native Plants are Important (approx. ¼ mile away); Oaks Are Important (approx. ¼ mile away); The Catholic Charities St. Vincent Center (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Native Plants are Important (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Welcome to Jesse White Nature Garden (approx. ¼ mile away); LaSalle Street Cable Car Powerhouse (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

Regarding Assumption School. This building served as the parish school for Assumption Church, which still stands four blocks to the south of here at 323 W. Illinois. The school closed

Assumption School image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 26, 2024

3. Assumption School

The building was converted into condominiums after it was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2003.

in 1945 as the neighborhood's predominantly Italian-American population moved out of the Near North Side. Threatened with demolition at the turn of the 21st century, it was named a Chicago Landmark in 2003 and converted into residential condominiums.

Mother Cabrini came to Chicago after years of service in New York City. In addition to Assumption School, Cabrini founded Columbus Hospital in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Cabrini died in 1917 and is buried in New York. She was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1938, and in 1946, she was canonized as a saint by Pope Pius XII. The National Shrine to St. Frances Cabrini is located in Chicago in Lincoln Park, near where Columbus Hospital stood until being demolished in 2002. Cabrini is also (perhaps most famously) one of the namesakes of the Cabrini-Green public housing project, about a mile north of this marker. Most of that development was

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of Library of Congress

4. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

demolished by the early 2010s; rowhouses named after Cabrini are the only elements of that that remain. There is also a Cabrini Street that goes through part of the city's Little Italy and South Loop neighborhoods.

Also see . . .
1. Assumption School. A 2003 report by Chicago's Commission on Chicago Landmarks with a history of the building. (Submitted on July 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Chicago's First Italian Church. A history of Assumption Church, which is located four blocks south and whose congregation opened Assumption School on Erie Street in 1899.

Excerpt: "By 1945 the school, once bursting at the seams, closed its doors forever. But not once during the 46 years did it charge even one student tuition."

(Submitted on July 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 26, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 489 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 4. submitted on May 14, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.