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Park Ridge Youth Campus

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Illinois Industrial School for Girls
two brick buildings visible at different angles through trees; a walking path crosses in front
Two of the campus buildings in 2011
Location733 North Prospect Avenue
Park Ridge, Illinois
Websitewww.prparks.org/prospect-park
NRHP reference No.98000978

The Park Ridge Youth Campus, or just The Youth Campus, was a school and orphanage in Park Ridge, Illinois from 1908 to 2012. The campus is on the National Register of Historic Places as the Illinois Industrial School for Girls, and was also known as the Park Ridge School for Girls. The campus is now Prospect Park and owned by the Park Ridge Park District.

History

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Evanston

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Main article: Illinois Industrial School for Girls

The Youth Campus traced its foundation to 1877 as the Illinois Industrial School for Girls,[1] in what was then South Evanston, Illinois.[2]: 3 

Park Ridge

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Illinois Industrial School for Girls (Park Ridge, 1909)

The facility was relocated to Park Ridge in 1908 and renamed the Park Ridge School for Girls in 1913.[1]

Several of the buildings were funded by Julius Rosenwald, and were designed by Holabird & Roche, the same firm which designed the Chicago Board of Trade Building and Soldier Field.[1] Eight of the campus buildings are contributing elements of the campus' listing on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]

When boys were first admitted in 1980, the facility was renamed the Park Ridge Youth Campus, before being simply renamed The Youth Campus in the 1990s.[1]

By the 2011 the school services were being provided by Maine Township High School District 207.[1]

Solomon Cottage in 2012

After school

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The Youth Campus closed in the summer of 2012. The organization merged into the existing Chicago not-for-profit organization Children's Home + Aid.[3]

The campus itself was split into parcels,[4] with plans to sell the north part, approximately 60%, to Mark Elliott Corporation for housing development, and the south part, approximately 40%, to the Park Ridge Recreation and Park District for $6.4 million.[5] The Park District voters approved a referendum in April 2013 for a $13.2 million bond for the purchase and conversion to a park.[6] The Park District's property was re-opened as Prospect Park in May 2016.[7]

Except for Emery Cottage, Solomon Cottage, and Wohlers Hall, the Park District had the campus buildings torn down in March 2015;[8] in exchange for allowing demolition, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency required that the demolished buildings be recorded with architectural details, that Solomon Cottage and Wohlers Hall be restored, and that Emery Cottage also remain preserved.[9] The Solomon Cottage, built in 1908,[7] was leased on a long-term basis to the Park Ridge Historical Society in 2016,[10] and renovated in 2017 to become the historical society's Park Ridge History Center.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Welcome to the Youth Campus School". History. Park Ridge, Illinois: Maine Township High School District 207. Archived from the original on 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2019-03-17. Also Archived 7 August 2011 at archive.today.
  2. ^ MacQueary, T. H. (July 1903). "Schools for Dependent, Delinquent, and Truant Children in Illinois". American Journal of Sociology. 9 (1). Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 3–5. doi:10.1086/211192.
  3. ^ "Dear Friends of The Youth Campus". Park Ridge, Illinois: The Youth Campus. 2012-07-02. Archived from the original on 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  4. ^ Branham, John (July 12, 2011). "Site Plan Review for New Community Residences, Zoning Cases: SP-11-02, SP-11-03, and SP-11-04: 804, 808, and 812 North Washington Avenue" (PDF) (PDF). Letter to Planning and Zoning Commission. Retrieved 2019-03-17. All three properties formerly belonged to the Park Ridge Youth Campus. A subdivision and map amendment was approved in 2005 to divide the properties into three separate lots
  5. ^ Adlaf, Paul (July 2012). "Presidents Report". The Lamppost Newsletters. Park Ridge, Illinois: Park Ridge Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  6. ^ Bullington, Jonathan (April 16, 2013). "Park Ridge Park District plans next steps after voters OK buying Youth Campus". Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (online ed.). Archived from the original on 2019-03-17. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  7. ^ a b "Prospect Park". Park Ridge, Illinois: Park Ridge Park District. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  8. ^ Johnson, Jennifer (2015-03-13). "Tear-downs to start at Park Ridge's Prospect Park; paddle tennis nixed". Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (online ed.). Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  9. ^ Davis, Jon (2015-01-22). "New park at Park Ridge's Youth Campus gets early approval". Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (online ed.). Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  10. ^ "About the Historical Society". Park Ridge, Illinois: Park Ridge Historical Society. 2017-05-22. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  11. ^ "The Solomon Cottage: Home of the Park Ridge History Center". Park Ridge, Illinois: Park Ridge Historical Society. 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
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