Harvard School for Boys (Chicago)

Harvard School for Boys was a private, non-denominational,[1] day school in Chicago, Illinois. The school was founded in 1865 by Harvard University graduate Edward S. Waters.[2] It was designed to prepare young men for elite universities.[2] The school gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1902, it merged with the Princeton-Yale School to form the Harvard Preparatory School.[3] In the 1962, it was purchased by and merged with nearby St. George School, to form the Harvard–St. George School.[4] The school was known for its rigorous liberal arts curriculum, small class sizes, and strong faculty. It attracted students from prominent Chicago families.[5]

History

The Harvard School for Boys was founded in 1865[6] by Harvard University graduate Edward S. Waters in a building on Wabash Avenue near Congress Street in Chicago.[2] The school designed to prepare young men for elite universities.[2]

The school was affiliated with the University of Chicago.[3] In 1902, it merged with another prep school, the Princeton-Yale School.[3] The move was speculated to be in response to the merger of two other schools to form the popular University of Chicago Prep School, however, this was denied by the principal.[3] The combined school was to be re-named the Harvard Preparatory School.[3]

The school was tragically linked in 1924 to the infamous murder of Bobby Franks, a 14-year-old student kidnapped and killed by former alumni, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb.[6] The case shocked the nation[6] and the boys are the school were questioned.[7] At the time, the school consisted of a primary (years 1-8) and secondary school (years 9-12)[6] with 200-300 students.[6][7] Graduating students often attended the University of Chicago or Ivy League schools on the East Coast.[6]

In the 1962, Harvard School merged with nearby St. George School, forming a coeducational and racially-integrated institution to form the Harvard–St. George School. Changing demographics and declining enrolment led to the school’s merger.

Location

The school was originally housed in a building on Wabash Avenue near Congress Street in Chicago.[2] The building was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, prompting several relocations. From about 1877 to 1897, the school was located at Indiana Avenue and 21st Street.[8] In 1897, the school relocated to 47th Street and Lake Park on the south side of Chicago in, what was then, the former Gossage Estate.[8] The school was still at the location at Lake Avenue and 47th Street when it merged with the Princeton-Yale School in 1902.[3]

In 1917, the school moved to 4731 South Ellis Avenue[6] in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago where it remained until the merger. The combined school continued on the campus of former Harvard Preparatory School.[4]

Athletics

The school's teams were called "Hurricanes" and the team's colors were black & gold.[5]

Notably, the school introduced interscholastic golf to Illinois in 1899.[9] The school won the Preparatory League (golf) championship in 1901 and 1902.[9] However in the early 20th century, the school was considered too small to compete well in most sports.[6]

Notable Alumni

The school's alumni included:

References

  1. ^ "Home for Elderly Gets Hyde Park Group's OK". Chicago Tribune. 30 April 1970. pp. 2A-2. Retrieved 1 December 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Venerable Old School Marks 90th Birthday". Chicago Sunday Tribune. 8 May 1955. pp. C3. Retrieved 2025-10-12 – via newspapers.com. The institution–now marking its 90th birthday–is the Harvard School for Boys, 4731 Ellis av. It was founded at the close of the Civil war–at its original site, Wabash av. near Congress st.–by Edward S Waters, a Harvard university man. Tarzan did not actually go winging thru the school halls... [b]ut Tarzan's creator, the late Edgar Rice Burroughs [did].
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Big "Prep" Schools are Consolidated: Harvard and Princeton-Yale Join for Protection". The Inter Ocean. Chicago. 3 July 1902. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Bare Merger of Two Schools on the South Side". Chicago Daily Tribune. 21 March 1962. pp. B7. Retrieved 1 December 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Nanninga, Dave (4 March 2022). "Chicago Harvard St. George High School". Illinois High School Glory Days (Blog post). Retrieved 2025-10-12.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Baatz, Simon (1 August 2008). For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Chicago. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0060781002.
  7. ^ a b "Kidnapped Boy's Chums are Questionned". The Washington Times. Washington D.C. 26 May 1924. p. 2. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Gossage Estate Property Leased: Building will be Occupied by the Harvard School". Chicago Tribune. 25 April 1897. p. 34. Retrieved 2025-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c Pruter, Robert. "Early High School Golf in Illinois". Illinois High School Association. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  10. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (2 June 1981). "Philip D. Block Jr of Inland Steel". New York Times. pp. B-10. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  11. ^ Burroughs, Edgar Rice (1940). "When Tarzan Went to Harvard". Harvard Review. Chicago: Harvard School for Boys. p. 22.
  12. ^ "IHSA Boys Tennis Medalists (1911-1914)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved 2025-10-12.
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