Hey Everyone
To all those fortunate enough to have graduated from Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center High School, I hope you all got to attend the ceremony when the auditorium was dedicated to the Alumni Association. Hey, you can't say no to free food right?
Von Steuben, aside from being a stellar high school (maybe I'm a little biased since I went there) that has been recognized as one of the top high schools in the United States in 2003 by Newsweek, it's also a beautiful landmark in the Albany Park community.
Built in 1930 as a junior high school by architect Paul Gerhard(the famed architect who designed Cook County Hospital. On the facade Gerhard's livens up Von Steuben's brick masonry facade with elaborate terracotta reliefs depicting various aspects of academic life. His mastery of terracotta, which he proved with the beaux-arts Cook County Hospital is quite evident on the exterior of Von Steuben. During the depression (1933), due to budget cuts in the Board of Education and due to an increase population, Von Steuben was converted into a high school.
It thrills me to know that an organization such as Partners Preservation appreciates Von Steuben as much as the local community. The work restoring Von Steuben's exterior is almost complete and it's a testament of what bring a lovely building back to it's original glory can do for an entire neighborhood.
Keep up the good work Albany Park!
And I'll keep writing,
-The Autocrat of Albany Park
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