Marywood Academy
Also known as: Visitation Academy; Evanston Civic Center
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Why it's listed
Marywood Academy, at 2100 Ridge Avenue in Evanston, Illinois, is a four-story Georgian Revival school building of red brick and limestone. Architect Henry J. Schlacks designed the original section for the Sisters of the Visitation, and it opened around 1900-1901. A larger main building by Bohlen and Sons of Indianapolis followed in 1924. The Sisters of Providence bought the school in 1915 and renamed it Marywood. It operated as a Catholic girls' school with boarders until it closed in 1970, and enrollment peaked at 532 in the mid-1960s. It was the only parochial school in Evanston to offer boarding. Its design shows Classical ideals, including a tripartite base, body and crown, polygonal bay towers, a Doric door surround and a carved limestone lunette. The city later acquired the building for its Civic Center. Classrooms became offices and the second-floor chapel became the council chambers. The exterior remains largely intact, and the property was listed for its role in local education and its architecture.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues local significance under Criterion A for education, as an all-girls Roman Catholic school and boarding school that operated for about seventy years. It is also significant under Criterion C as a good local example of Georgian Revival architecture, with Classical details and a base, body and crown composition. Criteria Consideration A applies because a religious institution owned it during its period of significance.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 06000007, listed February 9, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 2100 Ridge Ave., Evanston |
|---|---|
| County | Cook County |
| Listed | February 9, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000007 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | Education: 1900-1955; Architecture: 1924 |
| Architect / builder | Schlacks, Henry (1901); Bohlen & Sons (1924) / Foley (1901); Byrne, Barry & Co. (1924) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals: Georgian Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Now used by the City of Evanston as its Civic Center; the exterior is largely unaltered apart from the windows, and classrooms were converted to offices. |
| Acreage | 9 |
| Coordinates | 42.05668, -87.68807 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 06000007.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q24040239
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.