“Come next school year, the two buildings that once held Francis Scott Key Elementary students will house the Field School’s kindergarten through eighth graders. It marks the first time the two-building campus at 535 N. Parkside Ave. in Austin will be fully occupied since Chicago Public Schools closed the school, along with 49 others, in 2013.

“Architect Dwight Perkins designed Francis Scott Key Elementary’s south building in 1907 when he was the Chicago Board of Education’s architect. The north building opened in 1969 to accommodate a growing student population.

“The south building is a listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Because of that, the Field School was required to preserve certain elements of the structure, like its western facade that faces Frederick Douglass Academy High School. To make the south building accessible, workers installed an elevator on the building’s north side, designing it to match the facade with raised panels.

“In 2013, Francis Scott Key Public School closed when Chicago Public Schools flagged 50 schools as under-capacity and shuttered them. It sat vacant until the Field School closed on the property in 2018.

“The north building (new wing from the 1970s), with renovations totaling $4.5 million, opened in the fall of 2022. In 2024, construction started on the south building with about $18 million worth of funds. Half of that was financed by a historic tax credit – which encourages the rehabilitation of historic buildings – and new market tax credit, which encourages private investment in low-income communities. The Field School fundraised for the remaining $9 million.

“The new Field School campus sits in Austin’s historic district, neighbored by Frederick Douglass Academy High School and the Austin branch of the Chicago Public Library – both of which partner with the Field School. (Mordacq, Austin Weekly News, 7/7/25)

Preservation Chicago is thrilled by this excellent preservation-oriented outcome for former Francis Scott Key School. We encourage decisionmakers to pursue a Chicago Landmark Designation for the former Francis Scott Key Public School. Additionally, we encourage ownership to pursue a Adopt-a-Landmark funding for exterior renovation of this remarkable Dwight Perkins structure if needed.

Preservation Chicago encourages the City of Chicago and the Chicago Board of Education to accelerate the speed at which these former school buildings are returned to a community use through adaptive reuse including community oriented uses. Closed school buildings make excellent future school use and we encourage the Chicago Board of Education to change their opposition, and embrace an educational use in closed former Chicago Public Schools. There are more than a dozen former Chicago Public School Buildings that remain vacant awaiting possible sale or reuse. Gyms, pools and auditoriums could be reused as community centers and school kitchens could be repurposed to serve meals to those most vulnerable within our communities.

Read the full story at Austin Weekly News

• First look at Field School’s south building; The grand opening of the private Christian school is Aug. 16, when middle schoolers will join elementary students on the campus that was previously Francis Scott Key Elementary, Jessica Mordacq, Austin Weekly News, 7/7/25
• Private school in Chicago is expanding to a historic former public school; The Field School has taken possession of the south building of the former Francis Scott Key elementary, 3 years after Field began offering classes in Key’s north building, Mike Kennedy, American School & University, 7/10/25
• Field School students to start classes at renovated Key Elementary building, Francia Garcia Hernandez, AustinTalks, 8/21/22