{"nrhp_refnum":"89001730","name":"Crow Island School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1112 Willow Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winnetka","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":42.101229292000056,"lon":-87.72050365731346,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-10-27","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1990-12-14","areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Crow Island School is a one-story, flat-roofed brick, redwood and steel-frame public elementary school at 1112 Willow Road in Winnetka, Cook County, Illinois, opened in 1940. It was designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen with Perkins, Wheeler & Will.","why_significant":"The document describes the school as an early example of the winged school building, designed in the International Style under progressive educator Carleton W. Washburne. Its self-contained, child-scaled classrooms and flexible planning influenced school architecture and design. The text states it retains excellent integrity of setting, design, materials, workmanship and function. The Section 8 significance statement is truncated, so the criteria are not readable.","narrative":"Crow Island School, at 1112 Willow Road in Winnetka, Illinois, is a one-story elementary school of common brick, redwood and steel frame that opened in 1940. Eliel and Eero Saarinen and the firm Perkins, Wheeler & Will designed it under Superintendent Carleton W. Washburne, a progressive educator. Four classroom wings radiate from a central block holding the auditorium, playroom, library and offices. Each classroom is a self-contained L-shaped unit with its own courtyard, child-height fixtures, built-in storage and no fixed desks. Whimsical details include blue doors, a fifty-foot chimney with an off-center clock and glazed animal tiles by Lily Swann Saarinen. The site borders Crow Island Woods and was reclaimed from marsh using landfill from local WPA projects. A 1955 wing and a 1975 resource center were added with materials matching the original. The building is regarded as an early example of the winged school and still serves about 500 students.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Eliel and Eero Saarinen; Perkins, Wheeler & Will (later Perkins and Will Corporation for the 1975 remodeling)","architectural_style":"Modern movement / International Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a public school serving about 500 students from preschool through 5th grade; described as in excellent condition with minor weathering of the exterior tiles and some darkening of interior paneling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.072904-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/40/8915/28891540/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/89001730_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001730/97cea4e358-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001730/97cea4e358-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Zol87","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crow_Island_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Zol87</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crow_Island_School.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891540","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crow_Island_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5189093"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/crow-island-school-89001730/"}