{"nrhp_refnum":"82002604","name":"Joliet Township High School","other_names":["Joliet Central"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"201 E. Jefferson St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Joliet","county":"Will County","state":"IL","lat":41.52571433000003,"lon":-88.07445761599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-08-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story Collegiate Gothic public high school building at 201 East Jefferson Street in Joliet, Will County, Illinois, built in 1901 to a design by architect F. S. Allen and expanded between 1917 and 1931.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant in architecture, education and art. It is an accomplished example of Allen's Collegiate Gothic school design, with additions by D. H. Burnham Co. that follow the original design. It was the birthplace of Joliet Junior College, the oldest public junior college still operating in the United States, and it holds notable artworks including the sculpture group \"Science Advancing Mankind.\"","narrative":"Joliet Township High School, completed in 1901 at 201 East Jefferson Street, is a four-story Collegiate Gothic school faced in local Joliet limestone with Bedford stone trim. Architect F. S. Allen gave it castellated towers, arched entrances and an E-shaped plan of light courts for natural light and ventilation. An arch motif runs through the stone, carved doors, iron stair risers, marble wainscoting and hardware. D. H. Burnham Co. designed four additions in 1917, 1922, 1924 and 1931, following the original design so closely that the joints between them are hard to see. The school is also the birthplace of Joliet Junior College, the oldest public junior college still operating in the United States, and housed the nation's first high school physiography laboratory and observatory. Its art collection includes a Lincoln statue, murals and Louise Lentz Woodruff's \"Science Advancing Mankind,\" a sculpture group from the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1901)","architect_builder":"F. S. Allen, Architect; later additions by D. H. Burnham Co. of Chicago","architectural_style":"Collegiate Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in excellent condition, with alterations; it is used as a public educational building.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.160247-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/8943/28894331/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002604.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002604/9dc28ab3b3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002604/9dc28ab3b3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"QuartierLatin1968","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joliet_Township_High_School_1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">QuartierLatin1968</a>, <a href=\"https://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:Joliet_Township_High_School_1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894331","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joliet_Central_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6269975"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/will-county/joliet-township-high-school-82002604/"}