St James Lutheran School is a well-respected and faith-driven Old Town private school located on Chicago’s North Side. The school serves students from a number of neighborhoods in the area. Our mission is to see that every student to leave the school filled with the passion of the Holy Spirit and having gained a solid foundation of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills essential to their ability to navigate and shape the world as followers of Christ. We offer inquiry-based learning with a Christian worldview, and our students often go on to attend some of the top High Schools in Chicago.
Some of Our Enrollment Programs:
- Preschool
- Pre Kindergarten
- Elementary School (grades 1-4)
- Middle School (grades 5-8)
Old Town, Chicago
True to its name, Old Town is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Chicago, and was originally settled in the early 19th century by German-Catholic immigrants. These individuals became the first technical Chicagoans in the area following the Treaty of Chicago in 1833 that accorded the relocation of the indigenous peoples formerly residing there. Many of the roads here were built during this time and are uniquely narrow and brick-based compared to other areas of Chicago.
Old Town was officially established as a neighborhood during World War II. The Chicago Civil Defense League designated the triangular area formed by North Avenue, Clark Street and Ogden Avenue as a neighborhood defense unit. At the time, this area was called North Town. Old Town didn’t receive its current name until years later when its residents, inspired by their shared kinship even after the dissolution of their defense unit following the war’s end, began hosting yearly fairs in the area that they dubbed the Old Town Holiday. Eventually, the name stuck and replaced North Town as the identifier for the area.
The name was additionally cemented by the formation of the Old Town Triangle Association in 1948, sparked by residents’ concerns about the deterioration of the neighborhood’s historic buildings. The association’s restoration efforts sparked the first urban renewal efforts here. Over time, the borders expanded and the original area, now called the Old Town Triangle, was designated an official Chicago Landmark in 1977.
Culture has always been a significant aspect of this neighborhood. The Old Town Art Fair, started in 1950 and put on by the Old Town Triangle Association, is one of America’s oldest art fairs and continues on even today. Old Town is also home to the Second City Improv Theatre, a notable comedy club that first opened in 1959 and has a reputation as a launching pad for some of the country’s most successful comedians.
Today, the neighborhood s a mixture of old and new with the juxtaposition of its young, modern residents against the older, Victorian-era architecture that fills its borders. One of the most notable of these buildings is the St. Michael’s Church, whose fire-resistant brick walls made it one of seven buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. They say if you can hear the bells ring from St. Michael’s, you know you’re in Old Town.
Visit our Old Town Christian School today, or give us a call for more information on our enrollment programs.
