Kenwood Academy - History

History

The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began the planning process to build Kenwood Academy, then called Kenwood High School, on November 3, 1965. With Northern big cities undergoing the final years of the baby boom, the CPS felt the need for a modernized new high school on Chicago's South Side. The high school was sited on 51st Street and Lake Park, near the Illinois Central Railroad, and was built in 1967-1969. The doors of the school opened in 1969. The address is 5015 S. Blackstone Avenue, Chicago, IL 60615. Elizabeth Jochner, Kenwood's first principal, held the position for the first 20 years (1967-1987). In recognition of the school's excellence and special programs, in 1977 the Chicago Board of Education designated the school an "academy". The school's campus is shared with Canter Middle School (formerly Louis Wirth Elementary School). The school is bounded by E. Hyde Park Boulevard on the south, S. Lake Park Avenue on the east, S. Blackstone Avenue on the west, and E. 50th Street on the north. The school's football field, however, extends the campus north to E. 49th Street along S. Lake Park Avenue.