The former Lyman Trumbull Public School Building in Edgewater was designated an official City of Chicago landmark by City Council today.

Designed in the Prairie School style by Dwight H. Perkins and completed in 1909, the four-story structure at 5200-5224 N. Ashland Ave, is a significant example of Perkins' efforts in progressive school architecture. The exterior features bold massing with a high level of craftsmanship using traditional light and dark colored brick and stone materials set in geometric patterns. The interior includes an auditorium with a domed ceiling and four skylit stairwells that feature glazed brick wainscoting and wrought-iron balusters.

Perkins served as architect to the Chicago Board of Education from 1905 to 1910 where he designed more than 40 school buildings and additions to existing buildings, many of which are innovative in overall design and spatial planning.

The designation was recommended by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in June.

The designation will protect the building exteriors, auditorium, vestibule, and four open stairwells from significant alteration or demolition.

The school is named for Lyman Trumbull, a former U.S. Senator from Illinois and coauthor of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Closed in 2013, the building currently houses the Chicago Waldorf School.

# # #