{"nrhp_refnum":"83000312","name":"Morton, J. Sterling, High School East Auditorium","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2423 S. Austin Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cicero","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.846450195000045,"lon":-87.77313238499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-05-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A public school auditorium building at 2423 South Austin Boulevard in Cicero, Cook County, Illinois, built 1925-28 beside J. Sterling Morton High School East and designed by Ashby, Ashby, and Schultz.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the auditorium was built at the urging of a largely immigrant, mostly Middle European community that wanted a beautiful, acoustically superior hall. Its murals by C. M. Fox and the engraved names of American figures express the community's belief in democracy and education. It has remained a focal point of cultural life and community pride.","narrative":"Built between 1925 and 1928 for a Cicero community that was then about ninety percent immigrant, mostly from Middle Europe, this auditorium serves J. Sterling Morton High School East. The firm Ashby, Ashby, and Schultz designed it in the Beaux Arts style at a cost of more than one million dollars. The Austin Boulevard front is face brick and limestone, with seven large arched windows, carved garlands and decorative copper gutters. Inside, a lobby with a marble and plaster fountain leads to a hall seating 1,500 on the main floor and 1,045 in the balcony. Eight oil murals by C. M. Fox show episodes of American history, and the names of scholars and leaders are engraved above them. The stage was built for large productions and basketball tournaments. Residents wanted a building of beauty and fine acoustics, and it has hosted concerts, community shows and school events for decades. A corridor joining it to the school was added in 1954.","period_of_significance":"1925-28","architect_builder":"Ashby, Ashby, and Schultz","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as the school's theatre and gymnasium and as a community venue; condition listed as excellent to good and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.219933-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/70/8923/28892370/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/83000312.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000312/264e437a98-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000312/264e437a98-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Teemu08","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:J._Sterling_Morton_High_School_East_Auditorium.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Teemu08</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:J._Sterling_Morton_High_School_East_Auditorium.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892370","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Sterling_Morton_High_School_East_Auditorium","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6107129"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/morton-j-sterling-high-school-east-auditorium-83000312/"}