The first time Krystal Thomas encountered “the Circle,” as the front entrance of Bloom High School is known, she marveled at the intricate and beautiful arrangement of sculpture, brick and woodwork.
“I just thought it was a beautiful and gorgeous building that just screamed of history,” said Thomas, starting her second year as principal at the Chicago Heights public high school.
History, politics and art are seamlessly entwined at Bloom High School. The Urbana-based firm of Royer, Danley, and Smith designed the main structure in 1934, during the height of the Great Depression, spurred by the onset of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.
The school, with three teachers and 81 students upon its founding in 1900, was doubling every five years and necessitated the switch to the larger campus on Dixie Highway to accommodate the explosive growth.
The school became a public experiment in which gifted artists were given full reign of expression. The French-influenced Art Deco design, drawing on the vast pool of skilled laborers, craftsmen and artisans who were eager for work, is memorable for its bold shapes and expressive ornamental style.
Curtis Drewes designed two limestone structures. Just as impressively, the interiors of the school also stood out. In 1936, the artist and sculptor Edgar Britton, under the aegis of the WPA, designed a series of six frescoes whose themes concern the relationship of learning and practical application. These murals are positioned on opposite sides of the main staircase. (Two former Bloom teachers, John Foster and Barton Herr, organized a funding campaign to help carry out the restoration of the original murals in 1982.)
The Nelson Fieldhouse, the McCann Gym area, auditorium, veterans’ memorial wall and music wing developed out of major additions in 1956 and 1976 — the year Bloom Trail was constructed in order to ease the overcrowding of the original high school. The Steckel Library, built in 1975, retained the original brick columns, just one example of how the past is superimposed on the present.
The school was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In order to conform to the dictates of the National Register, the building has undergone extensive renovations and upgrades in order to meet changing environmental standards.
Bloom High School has a current enrollment of 2,961, serving communities in South Chicago Heights, Glenwood, Ford Heights, Steger, Sauk Village and Lynwood. The educational imperative remains unchanged, and the idea is to make history breathe and take tangible shape.
“Even though Bloom is four walls — brick and mortar— the spirit of the school just extends outward to the community and back inward,” Thomas said. “A lot of the people that work here also went to school here. It’s an amazing place because the people in the community have so much love for Bloom.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance writer.
Bloom High School
Address: 101 W. 10th St., Chicago Heights
Architects: Edgar Britton and Curtis Drewes
What’s in a name? The township of Bloom, precursor of Chicago Heights
Building age: Built in 1931
Original use: Public high school
Current use: Same
Did you know? President Ronald Reagan gave a public policy address at the school on June 28, 1985
