{"nrhp_refnum":"80001373","name":"White, Louise, School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Washington Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Batavia","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":41.85074226100005,"lon":-88.30407065899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story white limestone public school building at the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and State Street in Batavia, Kane County, Illinois, built in 1893 to replace a wood frame school from 1856 that burned. A two-story yellow brick addition was added in 1927.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is one of Batavia's two finest examples of Romanesque architecture, with powerful vaults and arches in a white limestone exterior that has changed little since 1893. It also educated generations of Batavia residents as the town grew, and its grounds hosted Chautauqua gatherings for north central Illinois.","narrative":"Built in 1893 after fire destroyed an 1856 wood frame school, Louise White School is a two-story limestone building on a hill east of the Fox River in Batavia, Illinois. Its two-foot-thick limestone and masonry walls, deep arched entries and windows, and heavy timber attic framing under a hipped roof reflect Romanesque design. Each level holds four classrooms, and tall double-framed windows and three masonry ventilation shafts served comfort needs of the period. A yellow brick addition of 1927 is attached by a limestone passage but is not considered architecturally significant. The nomination points to the school's role in educating Batavia families across several generations as the town grew from a farm market into a suburb, and to its grounds serving as a site for Chautauqua gatherings. It is described as one of the best surviving Romanesque buildings in Kane County. The building was vacant at the time of listing in 1980.","period_of_significance":"1893","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied and vacant on the form; condition described as fair. The masonry is described as in remarkably good condition. A 1984 letter reports the building at risk of condemnation after stalled rehabilitation work.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.890997-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/8931/28893158/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/80001373.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001373/63a1540360-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001373/63a1540360-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"G LeTourneau","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louise_White_School_(Batavia,_IL)_01.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">G LeTourneau</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louise_White_School_(Batavia,_IL)_01.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893158","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_White_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6689002"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/white-louise-school-80001373/"}